Fate Night Sky
by Beasts lair's Fraggle
Summary: It was just a small wish: To live with their master and their friends as those uneventful days passed by, to see him grow up as he chased his ideals by his own strength. To become an ally of justice; a hero who can save everyone.
1. Prologue

_It was just a small wish: All they ever wanted was to live with their master and their friends as those uneventful days passed by, to see him grow up as he chased his ideals by his own strength._

_To become an ally of justice; a hero who can save everyone without having to sacrifice anything._

_That's why they will fight, even if they have to taint themselves to make his wish come true. They will walk down this path, no matter how dishonorable it may be. But it is not for the sake of the Grail, nor for the sake of the Book of Darkness._

_They will fight for the sake of the boy that has made them his family, and who believes that , even now, they still can be heroes. That is why they can allow themselves to fall into darkness, to besmirch their honor, and to drown in disgrace for his sake._

_Because they were never real heroes to begin with._

**Prologue**

rebirth

_New Calendar 0054, TSAB L-class cruiser Hestia, currently transporting the lost logia known as the "Book of Darkness."_

Death reigned supreme on the Hestia, as the eldritch abominations spawned by the tome devoured both man and matter in the artifact's attempt to escape from those that had attempted to confine it. It had managed to take over control of the transport ship's navigation and weaponry after devouring the sub-bridge of the Hestia, including control of the experimental Arc-en-Ciel. The weapon's charge-up sequence was immediately activated while the Hestia slowly turned its bow towards the rest of the fleet. With the weapon now pointed at the fleet, the Tome now possessed the power to destroy the approaching enemies with a single shot, before using the information assimilated from the ship's database to find itself a new master.

But its plan was soon thwarted as the enemy dealt the finishing blow to the Hestia before the Book could even fire its own weaponry, as captain Harlaown stalled the program as he delayed the deployment of the weapon until the very end. Distorted space-time tore the ship apart after Admiral Graham issued the firing order from his own ship, forcing the Hestia and any surviving crewmember to face the full strength of the Arc-en-Ciel's discharge. With a tremendous blast any remains that escaped the dimensional disintegration were shattered across the cosmos, destroying the physical form of the Book of Darkness along with the ship. Only fractions of the tome remained in the material universe, with every scrap of energy harvested from the crew of the Hestia lost in the destruction of the vessel . It left the tome with barely enough power to maintain its very existence, and all it could do was remain in limbo as the immaterial parts of the book slowly started to gather.

It would take ten years before the tome's programming would once more regain consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>Ten years later, Downtown Fuyuki, as the fourth Heaven's Feel comes to an end.<em>

Death reigned supreme in downtown Fuyuki City, as downtown Shinto burned in the inferno of unholy flames which had sprung forth from the wish of Kotominei Kirei as the holy grail made itself present. A bright flash of light closed the curtain on the fourth Heavens feel as the holy blade Excalibur tore through the materialization of all evil in the world. Without a vessel to contain it the innards of the false Grail were promptly released on the ground, annihilated everything that lived in the area. The shrieks, cries, and moans of people whose flesh melted away under the unflinching firestorm turned the small district into a landscape fit for hell.

Amongst the flames a small boy almost crawled away from the death and corruption, his hands pressed against his bleeding ears as he tried to shut out the cries of pain and help. The color of his flesh slowly turned from its normal color to a gruesome reddish color, before it turned a gruesome black. He whimpered as ash filled his lungs and smoke burned his eyes. Even so the boy continued to walk, stumbling forward until he could barely move. He ignored the voices around him, hellish whispers beckoning him to save those who had already died, as others tried to convince him to lie down and embrace the warmth. He refused to look back, for the sky behind him was filled with darkness and the ground was filled with the flames and with the dead and dying.

He just had to keep moving, until someone would save him.

And so the dying boy continued until his legs could no longer support him.

* * *

><p>Slowly the consciousness of the Tome spread itself across the universe, as the incorporeal program continued its search for a new host. The program had been forced back into a state where it could barely manifest its powers in the physical world. The tendrils of the master search spell burrowed themselves through space as it sought out large concentrations of magic, a sign which would guide it towards the next mage who could become the master of the tome and supply it with the power it so desperately sought to continue its existence.<p>

Eventually it detected a large concentration of magical interference, an event with magic so highly concentrated that it was strong enough to pierce the dimensional barrier at the source of the phenomenon. Computing the finding, the Tome swiftly calculated the chances for finding another suitable location, after which it set out a course. It was reasonable to assume that these high levels of magic was an indication of a large magic-based society, containing many potential powerful hosts for the tome, based on the size and intensity of the signal it had picked up.

With its current reserves already dangerously low, it didn't find any alternative options. And thus it sprung into action.

_**"Dimensional transfer"**_

The moment the book appeared in the burning city it knew that it had made a grave mistake. The phenomenon which had lured it here almost immediately collapsed after the Tome's appearance. As the dark monstrosity vanished from the world the cursed sky returned to its normal state, before ash and smoke shrouded the stars from anyone watching from the ground.

it had erred greatly. With its reserves depleted to its very limit it could only manage a very localized search to find a suitable master to anchor itself to, an action which would be vital on this now magic-barren land. In the worst case it's programming would completely lose any chance of interacting with the material universe for decades, until the book could siphon enough prana from the planets own field to resume basic functions, a feat taking a minimum of half a century, assuming perfect conditions.

With its power at a critical low level , the Tome found itself almost on top of a potential target. It could not make out the host's characteristics at this point, but it contained an acceptable amount of magical energy for the tome to sustain and repair itself.

And thus the Book of Darkness, lacking any other means for remaining in the world, bound itself to the only magical human it could locate.

Only to find out that it had made its second mistake that day.

* * *

><p>The boy had already given up on surviving. All he could do now was wait for the moment death would release him of the burden of carrying his wounds and pain. As his body started to die, his mind burned away. He didn't even notice as <em>something<em>entered his body, anchoring the ethereal essence of the Book using his physical form.

It didn't matter anyway, he had already given up on surviving at all.

The tome quickly discovered that it's only hope of remaining in the material world had already run out of time. realizing that it could no longer take any action to preserve itself at this point. It prepared itself for its newly acquired host to pass away, draining as much energy from the boy as it could to shave off a few months form it's regeneration cycle before-

The man crouched down, placing an object on the boy's chest.

A golden light enveloped the dying child.

The Book stopped its attempt at draining the host of its remaining power as an unknown power entered the boy, binding itself into the very structure of the host alongside the Book. The boy's vital functions were rapidly restored to near perfect health as the golden power forced the host's cells to regenerate at an unnatural speed, feeding the cells with its own power as they rapidly multiplied to restore the damaged organs and tissues. Unable to recognize this unparalleled power the book reached out towards it, trying to force a connection with the alien source of magical power.

It's attempt to probe the unknown object proved almost disastrous, as Avalon responded to the incursion by flushing the connection with the same power which had been feeding the regeneration, but which now brutally destroyed the anchoring constructs that the book had placed inside the boy's mind and body. In the end the Tome was only able to prevent its own destruction by minimizing its own activity.

And as the man carried the single life he had been able to save towards the hospital, the two powers came to a standstill. Avalon healing powers slowly came to an halt with Saber's remaining prana spend by the scabbard , leaving the immaterial Tome barely hanging onto its host. The physical remains of the book remained behind at the scene of the boy's rebirth, where they soon fell decomposed into nothingness.

The tome had barely survived, and the physical vessel had once again been lost. But even now It slowly siphoned power from its now master, showing enough restraint so that the other occupant of the boy's body remain dormant while the Tome slowly gathered power once again.

It was content with the situation. It had prevented an immeasurable delay in its reincarnation and had obtained a new Master, one which carried an unknown magic alongside the Tome itself. As it regenerated it would obtain this power, as it worked towards its own completion.

No matter how long it would take-

**"Bereidschaftsmodus activiert."**

It would prevail in the end.

Fate/Night Sky

-666 empty pages remaining-


	2. Family I

Fate/Night Sky  
>Family (I)<p>

The first few days after the fire passed in flashes, drifting in and out of sleep. His body felt heavy as the nurses cleaned his wounds, before covering most of his skin with an collection of bandages. He didn't complain when they pricked sharp needles into his skin ,liquid flowing through the tube they stuck to his arm. For days his food was fed to him through a tube in his mouth, his jaw wrapped shut tightly after they cleaned and clothed the burned skin on his face.

He found himself in a large room filled with whimpering children, crying out to their mother, their father or anyone to hold their hand.

Shirou wondered who he should be calling out to himself.

After a while people started to visit the room; parents looking for their lost children, grandparents desperately searching for their grandchildren , aunts and uncles looking for any living relatives as they and many others studied every bandaged face as they hoped to see a familiar face amongst the ones in the hospital wing filled with burned children. Many studied his face intensively, as they hesitantly called out a name, searching for a uncovered part of his face that would give them the clue that he was the one they were looking for. But in the end nobody ever grasped hishand as they cried tears of joy.

It didn't really bother him. He never looked if it was his family that walked through the double doors whenever someone new walked in. After all, he didn't remember anyone who might know who he was . In fact, He didn't remember anything besides his first name. For all he knew his life began in the fire.

The families stopped coming around the time the nurses finally removed the bandages around his face, allowing him to finally open his mouth for the first time in weeks. His cheeks felt stiff as they stretch along with his jaw as he moves it up and down. When the doctor asked him if he remembers anything new, all he can tell him is that his name is Shirou-

Probably.

The doctor continued to ask questions, but it was obvious that Shirou failed to remember his house, the streets where he played or if he even had any parents of siblings.

He doesn't remember anything.

Their conversation was cut short as a nurse called out towards the doctor, who , smiling, told him to wait, before walking out to the hallway. The room was soon filled with silence, with only the soft whimpers of the other children filling the room. They are the ones that nobody came to pick up, some remaining in an induced sleep as nurses diligently tend to their wounds, while others simply ignore the world as the spend time reading or simply staring at the walls.

Shirou's thoughts started to wonder as the minutes passed by and the doctor failed to return. Was there anyone still alive who knew who he was? Did everyone he knew die in the fire? Was there anyone left besides him to mourn for them?

What would happen if nobody could tell him who he was?

"Hello there"

The boy looked up as a male voice pulled him from his thoughts. A part of him wondered how he didn't see the doctor return-

This wasn't a doctor, that he could tell. This man hadn't shaved in days, his grey coat was all wrinkly and reeked of smoke and ash. His hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in months and that it could really use a new cut. He definitely stuck out against the neatly dressed nurses and doctors. But then, why was he here?

"You must be Shirou-kun"

* * *

><p>"My name is Emiya Kiritsugu" he spoke with a smile. It was strange to see the man smile like that, as if the man never really learned how to do so in the first place. His voice sounded rough, but to Shirou the man's voice sounded nice, if not a little suspicious. His eyes were-<p>

He knew those eyes. He had seen them before somewhere, back in the fire as-

"I'll ask you directly. Which would you prefer? To go to an orphanage, or to be adopted by this man, who you've never seen before?"

"Huh?"

The boy was stunned ,his scrambled brain trying to make heads and tails out of the bombshell of a statement that the adult in front of him had so casually dropped into his life.

"Well, which do you prefer? If you want to, you can walk out of this place with me. Or you can stay and wait for anybody else to pick you up-"

Shirou didn't understand.

"Are you perhaps a relative of mine?" The child asked, as he asked the first thing he could come up with to explain the strangers appearance. "Did the hospital call you to pick me up?"

"No, I am just a stranger who just came back to this town." The man replied, as he slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

He looked unreliable and scruffy. His eyes were bloodshed, and the light in them had almost been extinguished. Shirou suddenly realized that the person in front of him looked like there was nothing left for him in life, a person with no future at all.

_The man smiles as he looks down, tears streaming from his eyes even as he lifts him out of the rubble. Why is the man so happy-?_

"I'll come with you."

Shirou saw no difference between a stranger and an orphanage he didn't know. Ever more, this man came here to see him, to ask him to come with him. There is no reason for him to refuse his offer.

The man smiled, tension leaving his body as he let out a sigh in relief. He nods to himself as he stands up again, before turning back towards the boy.

"I see, that's good, that's really good. I think you should get dressed and ready to leave the hospital now. I'm afraid your old clothes got burned up a bit, so I asked the nurses to bring you something to wear until we can get you some new clothes. We'll be going home first though, you should get used to your new place as fast as you can-"

As the man rattled on he grabbed a small bag and starts packing whatever Shirou had with him when they brought the boy in the hospital. It was obvious that the man had no experience with packing, forcing everything into the small bag with brute force before trying to close the bag which refused to cooperate.

Five minutes later they walked out of the hospital with a somewhat closed bag, as they pass the doctor who had been talking to the boy only a short while ago. The man had a somewhat distant look in his eyes, which soon vanished as Kiritsugu snapped his fingers as they walked past the disorientated man.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something important."

"Hmm?"

Kiritsugu's voice was completely calm, lacking any hint of the nervousness that had been around before. As they walked through the empty corridor he suddenly stood still, his expression dead serious as he turned his head towards the boy.

"I have to tell you one thing before you come with me. It is something must be kept secret at all costs, understood?"

Shirou simply nodded. In response the man gave a small smile before continuing, leaning forward so no-one else could hear.

"To start off with, I'm a magician." He said it in a serious, exaggerated tone, as his face remained complete neutral.

"Wow, that's amazing."

It was the only answer the boy could give him , the first thought that came to mind slipped out of his mouth.

Because there was no part in the boy's mind that even doubted the man's claim.

* * *

><p>From that day on his name was Emiya Shirou. As the people of Fuyuki bade farewell to the cold with the arrival of Spring, so did the boy welcome his new life as he left the hospital with his father; the magus named Emiya Kiritsugu. Their home was a traditional home located in the outskirts of Miyamachou, Fuyuki's suburban district located over the river that separated the two parts of the city. When he first entered the house it was full of empty rooms, many of which were in bad shape. Rotten floors, broken doors and missing windows were a common sight. His father told him that it was because there hadn't been anyone living in the house for a long time, and Shirou decided not to ask about it.<p>

Besides, the house soon appeared to be as good as new after to his father's friend send in all sorts of people to help fix the home. Shirou had first met Fujimura Raiga a few days after his father had adopted him., as the old man invited his father over to discuss some business. Shirou had felt quite uncomfortable under the old man's gaze, before the man's teenage granddaughter had literally ran off with the boy under her arm while cackling madly.

That had been his first encounter with the force of nature known as Fujimura Taiga. The girl seemed to hang around his father ,and would often come bye to visit after school. For some reason Kiritsugu didn't mind the girl's expressive character, and often regarded her antics with a small smile.

At least the girl was nice enough to help Shirou with the chores around the house whenever she was around, because Shirou had soon learned that his father was less than stellar in housekeeping himself. After his first few meals he had even asked the newly appointed 'Fuji-nee' if she could help his father with the cooking.

The next day he decided that it would be better for all if he was the one doing the cooking from now on.

* * *

><p>The funeral for the victims of the fire was held in a large building, filled with persons clad in black. He recognized a few adults from his time in the hospital. Some of them had been reunited with their lost ones, as he recognized a few children who had left the hospital before him, but many of the adults had come alone, the person they loved most likely-<p>

He simply sat still as the service continued, as the 600 people that had not been saved were mourned by all. It was Taiga who held onto his hand through it all, as his father had left soon after the beginning, moving towards the exit without uttering a single word.

He had been the only one saved. If not for Kiritsugu he would have died with those whose names were called out to at this very moment. His wish for survival had been granted, while their wish had been rejected.

'Then, If only my wish was the one granted, at least I can carry your lives with me'

From that moment, Emiya Shirou knew what he had to do.

* * *

><p>"Teach me magic—"<p>

"I refuse."

Every night, after Fuji-nee had left for her own home, he would walk up to his father's seat, face the man and ask him the same question. His father's answer was the same every time but this didn't deter Shirou from asking the same question every night, again and again, determined to become a magus like his father. It was his dream, his purpose to become a person who could save others in the way Kiritsugu had saved him. If Emiya Kiritsugu, the man who was bigger than the world to him, could use magic, then Emiya Shirou would become a magus as well.

But months passed and Kiritsugu left started to leave Fuyuki for long periods, never telling where he went or why he left. Shirou remained in Fuyuki, with his 'Fuji-nee' looking after him as he went to school, did his homework and did the chores. When his father returned he would tell grand stories of his travels, as Shirou hung onto every word of the man's tale.

* * *

><p>"To be a magus is to walk with death. You must accept that to practice magecraft."<p>

After two years his father had finally given in, and from that moment Emiya Shirou became Emiya Kiritsugu's apprentice. He diligently followed the physical training regimens his father laid out for him, training him body until he could barely move. His father's response was hard to read. A part of him understood that his father didn't like the fact that he wanted to be a magus, but Kiritsgugu was taking his training seriously, saying that he could at least make Shirou a 'magic-user' instead of a magus.

To Shirou the difference didn't matter, as long as he could move forwards. As he grew stronger and his knowledge slowly grew. His dreams slowly started to change. Before . it was the flames of the disaster that filled his dreams. Although he never told his father or Taiga, he was sure that they knew of his nightmares.

But now, stranger dreams started popping up on occasion, strange images of gold and blue appeared, blurred and out of focus so that he couldn't see what they were. Some nights he saw nothing but utter blackness, but his nose picked up the scent of ink and paper, and his ears caught the sound of metal chains moving sporadically.

But besides these strange visions, which he could bare remember after waking up, life was good. He was sure that he was on his way to become a great magus like his father.

And so Emiya Shirou worked under the guidance of his father for almost three years.

* * *

><p>The two of them sat out on the patio, as the full moon shone down on the two, somewhat out of reach of the winters cold as they gazed at the sky. It had been almost 5 years since he had started living here, Shirou suddenly noted, before his father suddenly drew his attention when he spoke up.<p>

"When I was a child, I wanted to be a superhero." The man confessed to the boy. Shirou turned to his father in response with surprise written all over his face.

"What? What do you mean by 'wanted'?" Shirou asked. " Did you give up?"

"Yes, unfortunately." Kiritsugu laughed apologetically "Being a hero is a time-limited thing, and it becomes hard to call yourself that when you grow up." His expression fell as the last traces of the smile disappeared. " I wish I'd found that out earlier."

"I see. Then I guess it couldn't be helped-" Shirou solemnly stated

"Yeah. It really couldn't be helped." Kiritsugu confirmed, before Shirou suddenly continued.

"Yes, it can't be helped, so then I'll take your place!" The Shirou's voice , full of conviction, grew in volume as he continued "It's impossible since you're an adult, but it should be all right for me. Let me take on your dream!"

They boy looked Kiritsugu in the eyes. Eyes with a light that had been extunguised met the burning flame that fueled the young boy, as the latter made the most important promise of his young life.

"I'll make it come true."

Kiritsugu smiled, his shoulders slumping slightly, as if an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

'I see, if it's like that, then-'

"Thank you, I feel relieved hearing that. " Kiritsugu spoke up, before he closed his eyes as he stopped talking

Shirou smiled at his father, who simply sat next to him with a unusually peaceful expression, almost as if he was asleep. He looked so content that Shirou didn't dare to disturb him until the morning had come.

Emiya Kiritsugu didn't wake up.


	3. Family II

Fate/Night Sky

_Uminari city, two years before Kiritsugu's death_

Her name was Yagami Hayate, a 10 year old elementary student from Uminari. She liked cosplay and skinship and had a rather strong dislike for spinach. She had an almost ordinary family: two foster parents, four sisters and a cat.

"H-Help?"

Also, somehow everyone had suddenly disappeared from the street, leaving her behind in a twilight world with a monster that was about to eat her.

"A-anyone?"

It lunged towards her with a terrifying roar, it's jaw opening to swallow the girl whole.

"Shoot!"

Another voice pierced trough the monster's roar. It hesitated for just a moment, which became its undoing as a moment later the monster got blasted across the street by a beam of light. It was so bright that Hayate had to force her eyes shut, her vision filed with-

"Pink?"

"Hayate-chan, it's okay now!"

Yagami Hayate could only look as her classmate, Takamachi Nanoha, floated down from the sky. The staff she was holding turned back into her usual necklace the moment the girl touched the ground, before running towards the trembling girl. The thing that had tried to attack her had been turned onto a smoking heap which a boy in green was currently forcing into a container by the applications of a generous amount of chains.

Chains made out of green light, to be precise.

"Nanoha-chan, t-that was…."

"Ehe, I'm sorry about that. You must have been-"

"SO COOL!"

Yuuno could only stare at the sight of the formerly terrified girl shaking Nanoha around, bombarding the stunned girl with questions as 'How?', 'When?' and 'Where can I get a staff like that?'.

"What is it with you earthlings and your obsession with magic? She's almost as bad as you were in the beginning"

"Yuuno-kun, that's-mou!"

And in the neighboring city of Fuyuki, another boy continued his training with his father, taking his first steps onto the path of the hero of justice.

Family (II)

_Fuyuki_

Once again Shirou's world had been turned upside down. Fujimura Raiga and several of his acquaintances had rushed towards the Emiya residence after a distraught Shirou called the Fujimura household. He simply watched with a blank expression as a man, who appeared to be a docter of sorts, ran to his father the moment the men had entered the home. It only took a few moments before the man covered his father's eyes as he shook his head to the others. Even so, his father's death only sank in when a crying Taiga hugged him, before taking him with her as his father's body was carried away from the patio.

Emiya Shirou was no stranger to death. In fact, he had a better understanding of it than most people his age. It had been the first thing his father had taught him after al: a magus walks with death from the moment they starts using magic. Even so, he couldn't accept that his father was gone.

He didn't understand it at all. He simply couldn't understand why Kiritsugu had to die.

The responsibilities of arranging Kiritsugu's funeral were taken care of by Fujimara Raiga, as Shirou was far too young to do so himself . In the end the boy only sat down and watched as the old man took care of it all; from informing Ryuudouji temple of the death so that they could organize the wake, to arranging the cremation and the funeral itself. Kiritsugu was to be given his final resting place in the graveyard behind Ryuudouji temple. The Fujimaru oyabun had made sure that his friend would be given a proper funeral.

It was no surprise that there were only a few people present on the day of the funeral. Emiya Kiritsugu had withdrawn himself from Fuyuki's public life for the last five years, save for the sporadic appearances where he showed up alongside Shirou at school, the hospital or any other civilian duties related to his son. Thus it was no surprise to the boy that the only people who showed up at the service were members of the Fujimura family. Both grandfather and daughter accompanied the young boy, who had once more been left behind by the deceased.

Taiga heart ached, both mourning the man she deeply cared about while worrying for the child whose hand she was holding. The cheerful boy that she used to play around with had been replaced by a child garbed in black mourning clothes, wearing a dim expression as he stared out at the urn which contained all that remained from Kiritsugu's body. He had barely spoken to anyone ever since his father died, something that bothered her greatly. They watched as Kiritsugu's remains were given their final resting place, the urn lowered into the grave. Shirou's face was like an open book to the girl, his frustration and his grief plain to see.

"Don't worry Shirou." She softly spoke, trying to blink back her tears as she smiled at the boy. "We will take good care of you." She had not expected the boy to respond to her as she turned around. She took a step as she followed her father towards the exit.

"Fuji-nee."

For the first time in days Shirou raised his voice on his own. A burden was lifted from the girl's shoulders as she finally heard him speak on his own. She turned, and squatted down so she could look him straight in the eyes as she waited for him to continue.

"I want to go home now." The boy stated.

She nodded at him."Let's go home, I'm sure mom will be glad to make you some..."

"Fuji-nee. I want to go home." The boy repeated, as he looked at his father's grave. Taiga's face fell as she realized what the boy was saying. "I haven't been home for the last few days, so the dust is probably already getting everywhere. I also have to do some shopping for dinner, so…"

"Shirou," she interrupted him, "Kiritsugu isn't there with you anymore. You can't live on your own anymore. Isn't it better if you just come with us?"

He simply shook his head as looked past her, as her grandfather appeared next to her. "Is there something wrong with our home, Emiya Shirou?" The old man bluntly questioned the boy.

"I'm grateful for your care and for letting me stay for the last few days," the boy replied politely. "But my home is the house dad and I live in. Even if he isn't there anymore it's still our home."

The old man gave him a good look, before closing his eyes , his face shifting into a frown as the man thought the situation over. Eventually he let out a deep sigh , rubbing the top of his head as if it would help his upcoming headache disappear. "You can go home tomorrow, and I'll send some people with you to clean things up. I'll have Taiga drop by every day to make sure you go to school, and that everything you need is taken care of. If she said you can't handle it then it's over, so don't make me regret my decision."

The boy gave the man a grateful look before he bowed deep in appreciation. "Thank you very much," he spoke quietly, a small smile appearing on his face.

"What!" Taiga roared. "Grandpa! Why are you letting him live on his own already! Shirou's way too young to live on his own! ."

"Hasn't he been living on his own every time Kiritsugu was gone?"

"T-This is different, completely different old man!"

"Stop calling me old man already, I'm not that old." He complained in return as he slowly walked towards the car waiting for them.

"Stop changing the topic already!"

Shirou simply watched as grandparent and child continued to bicker as they left the graveyard. He stopped at the border of the grounds, turning around as he took one more glance in the direction where his father rested-

_"I'll take on that dream, so don't worry" _

-before running towards the disappearing backs of the persons who had moved on.

"Just watch me dad, I'll definitely become a hero of justice." Shirou promised once more, running to catch up with Taiga as she shouted at him.

_"I'll make it come true." _

_"Thank you, I feel relieved hearing that. "_

* * *

><p>It was the same dream again. His entire body was burning, the smell of burned flesh seared into his nostrils, his ears filled with the cries of those who burned with him as his own flesh became a host to the horde of flames. He clenched his teeth as he tried to wake up before…<p>

The cold hit him in an instant, the flames extinguished by the blackness that suddenly surrounded him. The smell of flesh was replaced by that of ink and paper, and the rustling of chains filled his ears. He tried to see anything in the darkness, but as usual there was….

A small column of light at the horizon, barely visible but it was there. He had never seen anything like it in this world before. Had it always been there, or was it only now that the light had been bright enough for him to see it?

He started walking through the darkness, heading towards the light. He moved, no longer bothered by the cold, guided by the light and the increasing sounds of the chains. Several times he tripped over something, but it was so dark that he couldn't see whatever had caught onto his foot

Eventually he reached the source of the light. The column of light illuminated a small hill of sand which was covered in chains, binding an object to the ground as it tried to free itself from its bindings.

It was a book, much older than any Shirou had seen so far, adorned with golden inscriptions which surrounded the giant cross that formed the center of the cover.

It was also very much trying to get free from the chains, and it was starting to be successful in its attempt. As Shirou approached the Tome the chains holding it down shattered one by one until the book rose from the ground with an ominous glow. Facing the boy , the tome opened itself, showing empty page after empty page, each of them burned into the boy's mind.

Suddenly the sky lit up as-

-Gears slowly turning-

-a wasteland, still empty but for a few-

-A golden Light filling-

**-"Übertragung der-"**

Shirou woke up.

* * *

><p>The moon illuminated the garden of the Emiya residence as the boy walked towards the shed. He had been back at his own house for the past three days, but this was the first evening that Taiga hadn't insisted on staying over. She did tell him that she would still keep showing up every day, to make sure he woke up and to eat breakfast with him.<p>

He had soon learned that it was better to make breakfast for three if he wanted something to eat himself.

She also made sure that he went to Elementary school on time, by dragging him to school himself even though she had her own education to worry about. Shirou pitied the poor souls who would one day become Taiga's students at Homurahara high school. They had no idea of their upcoming suffering. At least he still had three full years at Northern Miyamachou middle school in store for him, giving him three more years until having to face his older sister in the classroom as well.

Shirou opened the door of the shed with his key, before entering his small workspace. The floor was covered with an old blanket, the very spot where Kiritsugu had instructed him into the very basics of magecraft. From now on he would have to work by himself though. Today he would once again try to create a magic circuit, his only way of performing magic, since his body naturally lacked them. The previous three days he had been unable to train himself, the looming presence of his guardian keeping him from finding both time and rest to even attempt the dangerous feat. He needed absolute focus to facilitate the process of creating a circuit to act as the conduit for his magecraft.

Attempting to do it without full control was a risky game, with lethal consequences, and Emiya Shirou was not yet prepared to die. He had yet to save anyone, so he couldn't die just yet.

He cleared his mind.

"Trace On."

He hypnotized himself with those words, the only way for him to prepare his body for magecraft for the task at hand. It felt like days had passed when the circuit finally slipped into place as it fused with his body, transforming his human body into a channel for prana, if just for that moment.

He slowly exhaled, his body trembling and draped in sweat drenched clothes. A quick glance at his watch told him that he had spent two hours creating the channel. It still took him that long just to create the connection to allow him to perform magecraft. The boy steeled himself as he prepared himself to activate the circuit.

He once again cleared his mind as he…..

"**Anfang."**

He lost control over his body as the voice tore through his concentration. Panic gripped the boy's mind as the circuit started to burn out of control. Losing control of a circuit could destroy a magus's entire body, if not outright kill him. His body refused to listen to him as the burning increased, before it suddenly stopped completely as the circuit cooled down, but remained active.

"**Unzureichende leistung."**

"Output insufficient? What are you…" The boy spat out between ragged breaths, before realizing that the voice had definitely not spoken in Japanese. But before the boy could continue that line of thought something else caught his attention.

The prana that the circuit had spat out was now moving into his chest, where it was gathering into a small ball. A cold shiver rand down the boy's spine at the sensation

"**Erzwungene aktivierung."**

"Forced what-?"

Pain shot through his entire body, which felt as if he had just been set on fire all over again. It was the pain of making a circuit, but instead of making one form his nerves it was as if he was trying to turn every single fiber in his body into one. He tried to cry out in pain, but his body went rigid, unable to move even an eyebrows, His drenched clothes were mostly dry now, his burning body warming up the air in the cold shed. Shirou was sure that he was going to die.

Then, one by one, he felt droplets of molten steel drip down his spine, as if they were swimming through his nerves. After a few minutes the feeling of being burned alive weakened into the feeling of walking through blistering winds.

He suddenly recognized the feeling; it was the feeling he got when he failed to make a proper circuit. The source of the pain was a dozen of failed circuits burning him alive from within. His self-made circuit had disappeared, leaving only these failed circuits created by the voice, somehow remaining, as they continued flooding his body with fiery pain.

"**Übertragen der Kontrolle an der meister."**

Shirou almost passed out when he suddenly regained control of his body. Almost immediately he fell over onto the ground, the cool blanket bringing both relief from the heat and pain to his tortured body. He could barely think, his mind felt like it was about to break, as if something was trying to climb out of his brain.

"**Materialisieren"**

In a flash, the pressure seemed to intensify until it pushed everything else in his head aside. The only thing remaining was the image of the Tome, the memories of the dream returning with a vengeance. Every detail and nuance of its structure was clear to him now, along with every material that had been used in its creation….

Except for a part of the core. Somehow that part of the construct eluded him, shrouded itself in darkness while forcing him to look away before it would tear his mind apart.

Shirou offhandedly noticed that his body was trying to stand up, wobbling unsteady on his legs while holding out his right hand in front of him, the palm of his hand facing upwards. Prana once again gathering inside his body as his eyes focused on something which did not exist.

"Trace- on"

Shirou only knew the very basics of magecraft that Kiritsugu had taught him, and his only working skill was the basic magic of Structural Grasp, which gave him the ability to 'read' objects. He had never been able to reinforce anything properly and almost all of his attempts at projection had been disappointing at best.

It didn't matter.

All the boy could think about was holding the tome in his hands. The fact that it didn't exist was not a problem, for the image within him was near flawless. The fact that it couldn't be recreated using normal projection did not bother him at all. In fact, all of Shirou's common sense was pushed aside as his mind prepared itself to complete this single task, which was all that was keeping him from crashing down to the ground.

"Trigger—Off"

Slowly, the air between his open hands shimmered as the very concept of the tome materialized into existence, a small ball of light held together only by his will. Slowly the outlines of the book started to appear as he created the basic structure surrounding the core, creating a ghostly image made out of prana, incorporeal and so fragile that even a soft breeze threatened to tear it apart. Slowly the materials of the tome's composition followed, as simple paper and ink were once again put in place while the precious metals and leather once again formed the cover of the tome. With the final details reproduced the materials once again formed the intricate binding which housed the Tome's programming.

The processed halted, a pained expression betraying the pressure the process was placing on his mind. He realized that he couldn't fully replicate the process of its original creation, as that part of the image had been shrouded, distorted in his mind. The image wavered, before it stabilized as something lodged deep inside of him provided the image with the information it needed. Shirou's mind went blank, the enormous stream of information that flowed through his mind far too much for him to handle.

* * *

><p>The book which had rested on the hill in the wasteland , now unshackled, slowly floated towards the sky, before vanishing in a flash of light.<p>

Soon the flames returned, fueling the furnaces of the barren world once more.

* * *

><p>Shirou felt something deep inside him lodge free, moving alongside his remaining prana as he poured his remaining strength into his projection.<p>

There was a bright flash, and Shirou knew no more, already unconscious before his body even hit the floor.

With a heavy slam the tome descended onto the floor, landing next to its master. The boy was currently burning himself to death, his circuits continuing to pump out prana until a conscious command from the mind would shut them down.

"**Stillegung"**

A short pulse of the book slammed into the boy, who slowly stopped trembling as his exhausted body finally started to cool down. The book remained immobile for the rest of the night as its master slept, haunted by strange and feverish dreams.

* * *

><p>One could say that Emiya Shirou had seen better days.<p>

First he had woken up inside the shed, feeling quite miserable and with no memory on when he fell asleep the night before. His entire body ached and his head felt so heavy that he didn't even noticed that there was something lying on the floor until he tripped over it.

After picking up the old book any lingering drowsiness was brutally squashed as his guardian had stormed the shed with a fearsome battle cry, prompting him to throw the book into a corner to hide it from Taiga's eyes before facing her wrath. It soon became clear that he had slept in way past normal, which forced Shirou to eat a breakfast cooked up by a peeved Taiga, while he quickly freshened up, before hurrying off to school.

To make things worse, he quickly realized that he had left his homework at home. The teacher had been kind enough to refrain from giving him even more work as punishment, the man most likely attributing Shirou's carelessness to his father's recent departure, and instead Shirou was forced to sit down as the man gave him a minor scolding, reminding the boy that his final year at elementary was already coming at an end.

But, there had been good things as well. While he couldn't remember everything from the previous night, he did remember succeeding in making a magic circuit, and how his body had gone haywire, resulting in him making far more circuits that he usually did.

Circuits that had failed to disappear even after a day. A fact that he had found in a very unpleasant way , as his mind wandered for a moment during dinner with his guardian.

Something triggered in the back of his head. The shock of the burning sensation which rushed trough him had been enough for him to throw his arms up in reflex. Arms that had been holding a plate filled with curry, which then preformed a perfect landing straight onto a hungry Taiga.

She didn't really appreciate his cooking this time.

But it had been there, the power needed for his magecraft in a flash, as if he only had to throw a switch in his head. It was as if there was a gun in his mind, and all he needed to do was pull the trigger to activate them.

He couldn't remember if Kiritsugu ever explained this to him, but without him he just had to assume that he didn't have to make a circuit every time after all. Perhaps this was the next step his father was going to explain to him before he had passed away. Shirou liked to think that this had somehow been a last instruction his father had left for him.

One more step on the road of becoming an hero of justice.

The strange book that he stumbled over was one he hadn't seen in the shed before, barely able to hide it before his workshop got stormed by the angry Taiga. He had hidden what was most likely another lost item from his father's collection of trinkets under one of the many boxes in the shed. Perhaps it was something his father had used before, perhaps even some sort of spellbook. Reading it might make for a good training exercise.

Once more he sat down on the blanket inside the as he cleared his mind, searching for the trigger he had pulled during dinner. After a while he grasped onto something and he steeled himself as he once more opened the floodgates

"Trace on."

In his mind he cocked the hammer, and let it strike down. Immediately the feeling of the strange circuits burning through his body reappeared. HE still didn't know if these circuits were even properly made, but at this point he probably wouldn't know what the difference was between a failed circuit and a good one in the first place.

Failed or not, this was all Emiya Shirou would get. There was no need to hesitate for him at this point. The fact remained that a process which took him two hours had been reduced to less than a minute. Bolstered by his success he grabbed onto a regular object for his training, a broken metal pipe from the corner of the shed. Holding the pipe in both hands he kneeled down, closing his eyes as he prepared himself for the next part.

"Structural Grasp." He softly uttered, as he 'felt' the object with his mind.

He could immediately see everything about the pipe, as if a blueprints was placed over the object itself, pointing out the weak spots that had led to the demise of the pipe.

"Reinforcement of the weakened parts"

He slowly flowed his prana, which was acting far more malleable then before, into the pipe, as he tried to steer it between the gaps in the structure to compensate for the weak spots. To his disappointment most of the prana refused to bind to the object. A small portion did stick though, and when he gave the pipe a hesitant swing against the ground it did not break. In fact, the pipe didn't even bend at all...

He returned the hammer in the back of his head into its original position, and the burning sensation stopped as the circuits stopped converting his od into prana.

He once more gave the pipe a swing, now with more force, but once again it didn't break. Shirou let out a cry of joy, swinging the pipe around swinging the pipe around as if it was an legendary sword. For the boy the pipe was of no lesser value though, the old piece of metal the first thing that had ever been successfully strengthened on his own.

"I can do it! I can become an hero like Father!" the boy cheered to himself, as his wonder over the chain of events fueled a huge grin on his face. In his burst of emotion he slammed the pipe against the doorway of the shed.

*Crack*

The sound of metal breaking resounded through the empty shed, the pipe shattering in two as the broken part comes to a standstill against the wall while Shirou holds onto the remainder of the pipe in his hand.

The smiling face was almost immediately washed away as disappointment filled his expression.

"Stupid Shirou," the boy muttered to himself as he places the pipe back on the ground. "One little success and you already break it in less than a minute. Dad would be disappointed."

Suddenly his eye catches the box in which he had hidden the old book which he had found. Walking towards the box he once again grabs hold of the book, as he takes another look at the cover.

Carefully he opens the book….

"There's nothing here?"

A part of Shirou had been hoping that this was a book that his father had used when using magecraft, perhaps a notebook or a manual of sorts. Thus he was a bit disappointed that ever page he turned was just as empty as the ones before it.

Perhaps there was something written in it, but hidden with the use of magic? It would make sense for a magus to use his magic to hide his own work after all. If that was the case…

"Trace on."

As the familiar pain returned he focused on the book, using the only method that he knows.

"Structural anala-"

"**Anfang."**

The room lit up light erupted form the Tome, the book floating out of his hands before he could even cast his own spell. Once again he felt a irresistible tug on his circuits as the burned through his od. An strong gale of wind suddenly blew through the sheds, flipping empty page after empty page as the tome's radiance increased, to the point that he was forced to avert his eyes.

Raw, uncontrolled magic filled the shed as the book awoke in the real world for the first time in ten years. A shining light lodge itself free form the book, before it buried itself deep within Shirou's chest.

Twenty-seven fibers spread from the core as they burrowed themselves into Shirou's body, fusing themselves with the circuits that were now nearly reaching the point that they would burn out.

Power flowed into the core, a triangle-shaped construct appearing around the boy's feet. Suddenly another magic circle, constructed of several triangles and smaller magic circles, spawned on the floor in front of him. With a final flash the wind died out, the shed shrouded in silence. With the storm passed Shirou was finally able to see what had happened.

Four strangers dressed in black kneeled before him, as the book floated in front of them. Surrounding them was the magic circle that had accompanied them, which even now still moves, slowly turning around its axis

"We have confirmed the activation of the Book of Darkness," The tallest female spoke as she kneeled in front of him, her ponytail falling over her shoulder.

"We are your guardian knights who shall gather power for the Book of Darkness, and the soldiers who will protect you, our master," the blonde continued as she bowed down next to the first female.

"We are the clouds that gather in front of our master, he of the Night Sky," the male spoke up without dropping a beat , as he too bowed down next to the two who had spoken up.

"We are the Wolkenritter, the cloud knights. Please order us in any way you desire." The small redhead finished, as the four figures bowed before the twelve year old.

"Huh?"


	4. Wolkenritter I

Fate/Night Sky  
>Wolkenritter (I)<p>

It was as if all sound had been muted the moment the four strangers had made their declaration. The only things he could hear were the beating of his heart and his own erratic breathing as exhausted lungs burned in response to the unexpected feat of magecraft. He stumbled while standing up as he tried to regain control of his trembling limbs. His chest stung at every breath he took and his limbs screamed murder as he tried to keep them from trembling. With some effort he managed to rise from the ground,picking up the tome that had drifted to the ground after the summoning while he had been distracted by his guests.

They had not moved since they had bowed down before him. They simply sat there, their heads bowed towards him, their posture showing that they were patiently waiting for something.

The twelve year old had no idea what was going on.

"Who are you people?" he asked, his face scrunched up in confusion as spoke. It was an almost desperate attempt from the boy to start making sense of the situation, the awkward silence making it even harder for him to calm down.

"We are the knights of the Book of Darkness, knights bearing the title of Wolkenritter." the tallest woman replied immediately, her voice devoid of any emotion as she answered his question without hesitation. Shirou couldn't even tell if she was annoyed at him for ignoring their introduction the first time, or that the woman simply did not care whether he had even listened the first time they had introduced themselves…

_Introduced themselves…_

"Ah!"

The boy eyes widened as a flash of insight hit him. Here he stood asking them who they were without even properly introducing himself! Why, they had even repeated their introduction a second time now while he himself had remained silent!

"My name is Emiya Shirou; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" He repeated the polite greetings that had been drilled into him. He bowed towards the four sitting on the ground, waiting for their reply to his greeting with baited breath.

The tension in the shed was now replaced with an awkward silence, the wolkenritter each sporting a look of utter surprise as they tried to comprehend what was happening. For all their experience in social matters they were baffled by their new master's behavior. He was bowing towards them and, from the look of it, would remain in that pose until they had at least acknowledged his greeting. But responding in such a matter would go against all protocol, especially as their master had not even acknowledged them so far. It went against all their knowledge on etiquette that they had gained in the service of their former masters. The servants were the ones who showed their superiors respect after all, and here their new master was now bearing his head towards them.

The situation grew even more awkward as young boy slowly started to twitch, his manners fighting against his exhausted body as he tried to maintain his posture. It seemed as if the impasse would last forever as both parties refused to…

"Nice to meet you?"

It was Vita who crumbled under the pressure, immediately facing the glares the other knights gave her for breaking decorum. Her discomfort went unnoticed by the boy, who straightened his back as a polite smile returned to his face. He pressed on as he now faced the four people in his shed, the feelings of shame washed away knowing that he had amended his impolite attitude from before.

"I don't want to be rude, but how did you people get into my shed?" The boy asked ,trying to recall what exactly had happened after the book had acted on its own.

"We are here because you summoned us here as the master of the book" the blonde spoke, looking him straight into the eyes. "When you activated the book of darkness we were awakened, manifested by the tome to protect and serve its master. As you are the current master of the book, it is you who commands us."

"Know that we will follow any order, and fulfill anything you demand of us. We will give our lives for you and any cause you align yourself to." The beastman added, as he broke his self-imposed silence.

The knight's composed look was once again broken as a pained expression distorted their master's smile, the boy struggling to comprehend their statement.

"Don't-Don't say something like that!" He eventually spat out in a voice filled with anger and pain. "Nobody should just throw away his life like that!" For Shirou, the idea that anyone would sacrifice his or her life was unacceptable, the very thought twisting his very soul.

After taking a deep breath he regained his calm, continuing with a voice now devoid of anger, but still carrying a hind of sadness. "Besides, there is no way that I could be your master. I can barely call myself a magus, and a third rate at most. You speak of your master as if he is supposed to be a great person, a great magus like…."

The memory of his father surfaced to the front of his thought. The only great magus that he had ever known, and who could have been someone they could have called a master was…

"…like dad-"

But Kiritsugu was no longer here to help him. Shirou's shoulders slumped as his voice grew weak to the point where it was barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but you are talking to the wrong person."

"_No, you are definitely our master."_

It was a declaration filled with such confidence that it left Shirou speechless. The tallest woman stared at him as she spoke, but her lips hadn't moved at all.

Seeing that she had gotten his attention the woman spoke up, vocally this time. "We have been connected through intertwined existence with the book, sharing our senses and thoughts with our master. You are the one who could hear my thoughts just now, proving that we are connected to you. From now on it is at your word that we live or die."

She spoke to him with such conviction that he was unable to refute her arguments. Worse, he started to notice that he could make out their presence, as if they were somehow part of him. They really were his own…

Even so he couldn't acknowledge the way the spoke about themselves, as if they were dispensable. For the boy who had sworn to save everyone this was unacceptable.

"Very well then. In that case I'll be your master," the boy replied with growing conviction, "But nothing more about living or dying at my word! People shouldn't say things like that!"

"Ah! You don't have to worry," The boy smiled at the befuddled knights as they tried to keep track of their masters thoughts. "I'll take good care of you!"

Shamal followed her master and her fellow Knight as they walked out of the small shed that her master, Emiya Shirou, had dubbed his workshop. As she stepped out of the entrance she was greeted by a large open space, comprised of two building with the well maintained lawn filling the empty space between the buildings and the walls separating the territory from the outer world.

"A small, yet decently enclosed property, with ample space between the first line of defense and the main complex." Signum spoke up as the woman walked into the center of the lawn. Shamal agreed with her assessment, as she gave the knight a short nod. Klarwind, her device which had been probing their surroundings, suddenly drew her attention, as it reported it's finding to her.

"The entire perimeter is covered with some sort of barrier, most likely some sort of alarm or defense. It seems to be self-sufficient by- drawing power from the surroundings?" Shamal's eyes widened as she comprehended the complexity of the boundary while relaying her finding to her fellow knights. "It's some kind of perimeter- an alarm against enemy intruders?"

"Ah, that's the boundary Father made against strangers and intruders." Shirou replied "I think it draws power from the leyline running around here somewhere, but I'm not really sure."

"Leyline? " Shamal repeated the term with a confused look, before realizing what the boy was talking about. " You mean your father was able to construct a barrier that could sustain itself by drawing natural energies form the very land itself?"

"I guess so, if you put it that way." Her master shrugged, not showing any signs that he was impressed by the very feat of a self containing barrier, which didn't rely on either a mage or a powered device to keep it running.

"I would be honored to speak to the man who devised such a radical barrier design."

The lady of the lake immediately realized her mistake as her master stopped smiling, his eyes staring of in the distance for a moment before he caught himself drifting off. "I'm sorry", he apologized, "but you won't be able to meet him. Dad passed away last week. "

"My apologies, I did not mean to be tactless." The blonde responded, her earlier enthusiasm washed away as she tried to figure out how to respond to the situation.

"Don't worry about it!" The boy responded."Even though dad isn't here anymore, I'll still carry on his dream."

"And what would that dream be, Master?" Signum spoke up as she and her fellow knights turned their attention back towards their master. Shirou simply smiled as he proclaimed his ideals to the world once again.

"To become a hero of justice who can save everyone, and become a great magus like my father!"

The knights simply stared as he spoke those words with absolute confidence. None of them spoke up as each tried to comprehend their master's statement, the declaration of his dream. They had often encountered people who followed such ideals on the battlefield, but always as the ones who stood in their way, never in the role of a master. The Book chose masters who desired power or fame, a person who would wield the Book to achieve his goal at any cost. It had found itself in the hands of those who desired to dominate, or those who sought to end the dominion of others. It had placed itself in the hands of those whose fame had corrupted themselves, and those who desired that fame for themselves.

But now it had placed itself into the hand of a child who carried such a selfless ambition. To become a hero who saved all is not a dream any of their former masters had wished for. So why could their master speak of it with such determination?

"Whaa-?"

Once again it was Vita who pierced the silence, unable to suppress the sheer chaos that was pillaging through her mind.

Shirou simply smiled at her.

He had been able to give them a quick tour of the house before his exhausted body finally caught up to him. He had invited them to stay over in the main house to which Signum had agreed, the other knights simply following her lead in the matter. He had been unable to figure out exactly what their contract, or connection, was, but he was far too tired to discuss the workings of the so called 'Book of Darkness' at this point.

He was barely able to slip into his own bed after showing his guests their chambers before he went out like a light.

Signum sat with her back against the wall, watching the door while Shamal and Vita sat down next to her. They ignored the futons the boy had pulled out of the closet for them, sleep being the last thing on their mind right now. Zafira, now in wolf form slowly paced around the room, refamiliarizing himself with his beastform as the others simply waited.

"Our master, he is..." Shamal eventually spoke up, hesitating as she searched her memories for the words she needed to convey her thoughts.

"He's naïve and too trusting" Signum calmly spoke, Shamal nodding at her in agreement. "He sleeps without any guard, a dangerous feat even with a boundary field in place."

"It doesn't look like he has many enemies so far, which could explain how carefree he is" Shamal replied, as she tried to make sense of her master's behavior. "It is most likely that he doesn't understand the blessings and burdens the master of the Book of Darkness has to carry. Eventually rivals and thieves will flock towards us to obtain the Book for themselves."

"He is very naïve" Zafira stated.

"Even so", Vita spoke, "He sounds like a good person, with his hero-dream and all that."

"It doesn't matter if he was righteous or evil incarnate," Signum stated, her voice lacking any emotions as she continued. "We will simply serve our master, in any way he wishes for."

The other Wolkenritter nodded in agreement. Vita and Shamal placed their backs against the walls as they closed their eyes, resting but still ready to spring into action, as Signum and Zafira walked out of their rooms to take their shift in the guard of their master's home.

It was nighttime in Fuyuki. The town was silent as most people slept without a single care, the few petty thieves who roamed the night watching their backs for either the random cop or for the Yakuza who cleaned their streets of unwanted trash in their domain.

In a Western-style mansion on one side of the city a young girl remained awake, accompanied only by the sound of scribbling pens, struggling to perfect her family magic deep into the night, as she continued her studies. Her arm throbbed, courtesy of her thaumaturgical crest, a reminder of what duties she held and what was expected from her.

In another mansion a similar girl suppressed a whimper as the squiggling sound of the crestworms accompanied her desperate struggle to sleep and forget deep into the night, the throbbing of her body growing worse as the restless bugs crawled through her very flesh.

On the roof of a traditional Japanese house a blue wolf stood guard, its senses sweeping over the neighborhood as he watched over over the small domain of his master. Inside the house the young boy slept as the lady of war stood at his side, her cold gaze watching over her defenseless master in his sleep.

"_-To become a hero of justice who can save everyone-"_

Signum shook her head as his proclamation floated to the surface of her thoughts. The boy had said those words with an expression that showed that he truly believed it. But it had always been people who proclaimed themselves heroes who eventually fell under her blade. She couldn't remember ever serving a master who carried such a grandiose ideal.

Heroes were usually the ones who became her opponents in the end.

And now she served such a man. A boy untarnished by the grim reality of battle, who still believed in heroes. Such a person was not one who wished to rule, and certainly not one whom the Book of Darkness would choose as a worthy wielder.

"Emiya Shirou" She softly spoke as not to wake him. "For what purpose did you summon us? What do you wish for if the book acknowledged you as its master?"

The sleeping face of her master gave her no answer as he continued to sleep. And thus the knight simply watched her liege, as he slept through the night.

Emiya Shirou woke up at dawn, his body still stiff, but otherwise feeling fine. Last night's dream had been quite strange, with people showing up in the shed as he…

"Oh no-"

He was wide awake as he finally remembered what had happened last night, exactly who had appeared and where they were staying. He almost jumped out of bed as he realized with mounting horror that Taiga would be here in less than an hour while he was housing four strangers.

"She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

"Do not worry master. No enemy who dares to aim for your life will live long enough to regret it. Graf Eisen and I will make sure of that."

Shirou turned around to see Vita, leaning against the door, swinging lazily with a hammer before pointing it at the ground.

"When did you get in here?"the boy spoke with an unusually high pitch , most likely because he had already started undressing before he even noticed the girl in his room and her hammer-

Her hammer?

"-and where did that come from!"

Fujimura Taiga was in a good mood today. It was a Sunday, which meant that there was no work for her to be done, and thus she had decided to take Shirou into town again. Shirou had been brightening up a little the last few days, which also put her in a good mood. She really was glad to see him bounce back after Kiritsugu had passed away, but she had decided that it wouldn't be a bad thing to pamper him some more.

And thus the Tiger of Fuyuki unlocked the gate of the Emiya estate with a smile on her face. She was greeted with the sound of Shirou preparing dinner, making the tiger hum as she could almost taste her delicious breakfast as she walked through the house.

"Good morning Shirou! Nee-san has come to play!" She bellowed out as she walked into the living room, following her nose and the sound of the table being set. She could literally walk towards her breakfast blindfolded; only really opening her eyes as she sat down at the table as she took in the sight of her delicious meal along with the portions for her fellow guests…

"Eh?"

She shook her head, trying to dispel whatever illusion the last grains of sleep had placed on her eyes. After vigorously rubbing her eyes she took another look, only for the four strangers to remain at the table. The man on the far side on the left sat on his knees, simply nodding at her in greeting as she finally took notice of him. Next to him sat a blonde woman, who simply looked at her with a measuring gaze. Next to the blond sat a redheaded girl, who was currently fumbling around with her chopsticks, grumbling as they slipped from her fingers every time she tried to hold them correctly while ignoring Taiga completely. The last stranger was currently helping Shirou set the table, the composed woman lowering the last dish onto the table before sitting down herself.

"Thank you Signum." Shirou told the woman with a smile before untying his apron as he walked towards the table. His causal smile suddenly became severely strained as Taiga's gaze locked onto him.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE SHIROU!" Taiga erupted with a roar that shook the house

Their master had taken the short time they had this morning to inform them of the most important rules of their new home. The first was that any sign of magecraft was to be hidden at all costs, an order that they found unusual, but acceptable. It seemed that for their master it was only natural that a ' Magus' made sure that he was never discovered by others. They had managed to conceal any traces of their magical attributes with a suppressing spell cast by Shamal inside the grounds, and even Zafira's unique ears were smoothly hidden with the help of a little trick of Shamal. As long as people didn't actively look, they wouldn't find anything strange at all.

The second rule was that breakfast, lunch, and dinner were to be prepared by the young master himself, and that all were requested to attend.

The third rule was that Fujimura Taiga's will was law, unless you managed to persuade her. This last order was the one that confused them the most. Who was this Taiga that supposedly reigned over their master with such an ironclad fist?

They didn't ask. To the wolkenritter the commands of their master was absolute. They did not try to understand them, nor reason when it went against their will. They were simply tools that their master would wield.

Emiya Shirou had given several orders since he woke up that day.

"Come and eat breakfast," the boy had ordered as he found them sitting in the yard, as they continued their watch of the neighborhood.

"No, let me do that," he commanded them as he worked in the kitchen, refusing any assistance while he made the final touches to the meal.

"Please sit down," had been his third order as he started placing the plates on the table. The preparations of his breakfast done.

"Can you put this on the table?" had been his fourth order as he handed a plate to Signum, who complied with his request as the woman Shirou had described as 'Fujimura Taiga' entered the room.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE SHIROU!"

The Wolkenritters's steel resolve was currently tested to the limits as the furious woman assaulted their master, grabbing him in one smooth motion as she yelled at the boy while shaking him around like a rag doll.

"_That woman!, I'll kill her!"_ Vita broadcasted trough their mental link as she prepared herself to activate her warhammer as Taiga shook the poor boy in all direction while unleashing an angry tirade talking about taking in strangers, robberies and child-abductors.

"_No! You can't kill Fuji-nee!"_ The boy immediately responded, before realizing that his order wasn't really specific enough. _"Don't do anything!"_ He pleaded, as he finally regained enough of his conscious to understand what Taiga was speaking about.

"And now I come in here and find you with four strangers at my breakfast table!"Taiga suddenly diverted her stare towards the four people who were now invoking her ire. "Who are you anyway?"

They simply looked at her without saying anything, and Shirou could see even more veins pop up on his big sister's forehead.

"_Why aren't you saying anything?"_ Shirou mentally pleaded as Taiga's grip on him grew even tighter.

" _You ordered us to do nothing, thus we refrained from speaking."_ Signum answered his plea.

"_Your names, just tell her your names!"_ The boy almost panicked as he realized his previous request was about to horribly backfire. He was fairly certain he could see smoke escaping from Taiga's head.

"My apologies." Signum immediately acted, to Shirou's relief. "You may call me Signum, and these are my companions; Shamal, Vita, and Zafira." The others nodded as their leader addressed them by their name.

"Fujimura Taiga." The woman responded in a flat tone before continuing, "Good morning then Miss Signum. Could you be so kind to tell me who you people are and how you got here before I have you removed from this property!"

"We are the Wolkenritter," Signum responded with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice "and…"

"They are old acquaintances of Dad!" Shirou interrupted the knight. _"Play with me on this!"_ he desperately implored his knights, who simply nodded at his command.

"Friends of Kiritsugu-san?" Taiga paused, her rage derailed as the memories of the man who until two weeks ago had been sitting at the breakfast table next to her tempered her anger a little.

"Yes, they met during one of his trips in- Europe! They won't really tell me what happened, but dad invited them to visit some time!"Shirou quickly continued, using the first excuse that he could come up with, using his father's stories to make up an explanation , hoping that Taiga wouldn't try to peel it apart. "They arrived last night to surprise Kiritsugu, but they hadn't heard that he had passed away yet so….."

"I'm sorry for you loss." Shamal politely spoke towards the woman, who had finally calmed down, and was no longer in danger of spontaneously combusting.

"Anyway," Shirou continued. "Because they had nowhere to go I invited them to stay for a few days until they could make some new plans."

At Shirou's last remark Taiga raised an eyebrow. "Nowhere to go? Can't they just go home again?" Shirou gulped as he realized what he had just said.

"For reasons we cannot speak of, we are unable to return," Zafira smoothly interjected. " We were hoping to start anew here, along with Lord Emiya."

"Lord Emiya?" Taiga's expression grew soft as she misinterpreted Zafira's words. "To think Kiritsugu still had other people who saw him in such high regard-"

"That's why I can't just send them away!" Shirou pressed his advantage. "It would be the wrong thing to do!"

For a minute Shirou could only watch Taiga as her face was twisted as she weighted her triggered protective instincts against the memories of her recently departed friend. Eventually she made up her mind as she turned towards Shirou. "I'll let grandpa talk to them. He might be willing to lend them a hand in finding a place to live and to work. But I cannot allow them to stay here any longer!"

"Fuji-nee!"

"No buts! I can't believe you just allowed four strangers to get into the house like that! What if they were robbers, kidnappers or – or even worse? Don't you know how much it worries me to have you live on your own like this!" Taiga replied angrily. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to live alone in the first place!"

"I agree, the young master has been much too lenient in his guard." Signum agreed. Taiga nodded in approval, before she snapped back to Signum as the girl suddenly realized that the former intruder was actually agreeing with her. "You should really have at least one guard in the house, even if you believe yourself to be safe." The ponytailed woman continued.

"_Signum, what -?"_

"_Trust me master" _The woman quickly replied as she smiled politely at the woman.

"Yes, finally someone who agrees with me!"Taiga exclaimed. "Grandpa is nuts for letting Shirou live on his own like this!"

"Indeed. I am so appalled with this that I refuse to leave this house until a proper guardian has moved in. Until then I will take the responsibility to watch over Kiritsugu's son." Signum stated, as Zafira and Shamal nodded in response while Vita and Shirou gawked at the knight proclamation.

Taiga nodded approvingly, until she finally caught up with what Signum had just said. "Wait a minute! You can't…"

"But it would be in the best interest of the young master, wouldn't it?" Signum interrupted the sputtering girl. " And as you don't live here yourself I take it that you, or anyone else for that matter, have been unavailable to keep a permanent watch on the young master? "

"B-But" Taiga muttered as Signum continued to verbally chop her to pieces.

"I simply refuse to leave this house until I can be assured that young Shirou is properly watched over."

Taiga went still, and her mind grasped for straws as she tried to find any argument for her cause, before finally resorting to her final attack.

She threw dignity out the window as she grabbed Shirou, hugging him against her body as the tears streaming down her face.

"You can't have Shirou! He's my little boy! No strange woman is taking my little Shirou away from meeeeeee!"

Shamal was unable to remained composed, her mouth wide open at the sight of the young lady who was currently having a temper tantrum while swinging her master around.

"Wha?"

Vita once again voiced the single thought that could convey her current line of thought as Taiga started running off with Shirou, they boy still clutched tightly under her arm.


	5. Wolkenritter II

Fate/Night Sky  
>Wolkenritter (II)<p>

Signum woke up an hour before dawn, the knight shifting from a state of light sleep into full awareness in less than a fraction of a second. It took her a few moments to sense her fellow knight, finding both Shamal and Zafira sleeping in their rooms while Vita stood guard on the top of the roof. The red-haired knight had taken the second shift of guard duty this night and her restless pacing on top of the roof showed that she was more than willing to be relieved of the chore.

"She still lacks discipline" Signum muttered to herself before quickly dressing herself in one of the outfits she had recently acquired during the 'shopping spree'. Said event had been orchestrated by her master and his supposed caretaker the moment it became clear that the Wolkenritter would be allowed remain in the house by the landlord, the head of the Fujimura. Signum swiftly made her way out of her room, walking towards Vita's location as the smaller knights pacing grew more restless, most likely the result of the smaller knight becoming aware that her relief had woken up.

Signum passed the door to her masters room on her walk through the house. Carefully opening the door, Signum peeked through the small crack to search her masters quarters for anything unusual. She was greeted by the sight of her master sleeping without a care in the world, blissfully unaware of his surroundings as usual. She softly closed the door before continuing her round, her eyes roaming over every inch of the corridors as her feet led her towards the garden. As she entered the garden the small knight made herself known, jumping off the roof as her leader approached. The redhead gave Signum a short nod as a greeting before walking into the house herself, most likely heading towards the master's room so she could get a few hours of sleep before he woke up, staying in close proximity to the boy so that she could swiftly react to a sudden infiltration of their domain.

From her spot on top on the room Signum stood as time passed, greeted by the first rays of the sun starting its journey through the sky once more.

* * *

><p>Emiya Shirou's day started shortly after dawn, silently making his exit from his own room where Vita was currently slumbering, his guardian unable to resist the urge to get some shuteye after staying up. The girl snorted as the boy tucked her in with his blanket before sneaking out of his room. He made a quick stop at the bathroom, quickly freshened himself up with the application of some cold water and a towel, before walking towards his workspace.<p>

He waved at Signum as he walked into the garden, smiling at the woman on the roof until she returned his gesture, before walking into the shed as he started his own set of morning exercises.

He thoughtlessly went through all his physical exercises as his eyes wandered through his workshop, from the boxes holding his father's belongings and the one holding his own spare clothes to the pieces of junk that he used for his magecraft practice. The number of objects had been increasing ever since had had started his magecraft practice, and Taiga had already asked him to clean the shed on several occasions as she called him an hoarder.

"That would be a waste. Even if it's junk, you can still use it." He spoke to himself as he pulled himself from the ground, finished with his pushups for this morning. His fingers traced the final element of the room as he stood up, some kind of old design inscribed on the floor. It was almost like an altar or something, or-

_Four strangers dressed in black- standing in the magic circle as they-_

"Nah, Dad would have told me about it." Shirou dismissed the thought as he grabbed a broken remote from the shelf, a gift from Taiga after the girl had stepped on it during her latest rampage. He didn't have much time left for his magecraft practice, but it was only a small exercise.

"Trace on."

Twenty seven circuits hummed as they started producing od, supplying him with the prana he needed.

"Structural analysis"

His mind was filled with the blueprint of the remote, the cracked piece of electronics clearly beyond his abilities to repair. With a sight Shirou released the image as he placed the remote on the shelf designated as 'real junk', the graveyard for the things he really couldn't fix with his meager skills. Realizing that he had to start on breakfast soon the boy quickly cleared his mind as he preformed the final part of his morning training.

"Core load"

It was a strange sensation for him, the prana his circuits produced flowing like water as it followed the circuits to their metaphorical lowest point, the place where they were connected to his newly gained 'linker core'. It was a construct that could actually store the prana his circuits produced without having them open all the time, a fact that Shirou found rather useful as that still hurt every second he had to use them. More importantly he could feel the books presence as it drank from the core, slowly draining the now partially filled container as the last bits of prana flowed out of his now deactivated circuits.

It would take the book less than a day to drain the core completely, feeding on the prana stored inside its structure. Its rapid pace forced Shirou to open his circuits at least twice a day to supply the core with the prana it required to meet the Book's demand, in order to prevent the Book from harvesting the energy of the surroundings.

It was a slow and inefficient way to fill the book, but it was the path he had chosen. He couldn't become an hero of justice without relying on his own strength after all.

* * *

><p><em>" So, the book potentially contains an almost endless amount of magical knowledge and might, but is currently incomplete because it required a huge amount of energy for its awakening, right?" Shirou summarized as he recited the knowledge the book has imprinted in his head. " And the best way to gather that energy is to drain it from humans with magic potential and animals who possess natural equivalents of linker cores. You plan so far was to start looking for possible sources to fill the book? "<em>

_" Yes" , Signum nodded as she acknowledged the boy's abridgment of their explanation. " It would be wise to start gathering the required power for the Book's activation before a potential enemy discovers that you possess such an powerful source of knowledge, especially with this ' second owner' you speak of in the neighborhood. With your command we can…"_

"_You can't! Something like using others people's lives like that is wrong! Nothing that is gained that way could ever be right!" They boy interrupted the knight with a pained expression. "For you to do something like that, it's simply wrong!"_

"_Master, it's simply…." Signum tried to reason, before her master cut her of again._

_" Listen. I'm going to become a hero of justice. I want to become a person like my father, a person who can save others with his own strength, not one who hurts them in the first place. Any power I can gain from such a method isn't one I want to use."_

_" But master!" Shamal interrupted him as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Without additional power, the Book will be forced to devour your own linker core's supply. You originally didn't even have one at all, and the one the book forged for you can barely sustain the book's primary functions. If it is forced to feed on your own body it will leave you powerless!"_

_" But I can still use my circuits to produce prana right?" The boy quickly replied. "That way I can simply produce the prana to restore whatever the book takes from me. I should be able to keep it up as long as I don't run out of od, and as long as I keep this core thing filled right?"_

_Shamal paused, as she though over the boy's counter-proposal. She had little to no knowledge of this planet's inherited magic ability. These 'magic circuits' seemed to be very refined in converting the body's natural reserves into usable energy when activated, converting what one could call the ' life-force' of a person into 'prana' on demand whenever activated . It was the direct opposite of a linker core, which automatically processed the available energy at a much slower rate, but was capable of storing the ' prana' that was created into its internal structure._

_Shirou's 'fake linker core' was unable to produce great quantities of prana in itself, but Shirou could crudely use his circuits to supply the core with prana, which the book could continuously feed upon to sustain itself and grow_

_" It could work…. " Shamal hesitated as she tried to run the numbers in her head, "but filling the book would take much longer, perhaps…"_

_" Then it is settled."Shirou spoke, his tone making it clear that the discussion was over. " I will fill the book by myself. It already has around 150 pages so far, so we can just see how fast it goes."_

_" It could easily take years, even decades….." Shamal tried to reason, but she faltered as she saw the boy's expression._

_" I'll definitely will finish it with my own power. I promise you!"_

_" What a troublesome master we have" Zafira sighed, before he regained control of himself as he realized that he had let that last thought slip out._

_Shirou only smiled at him._

* * *

><p>Vita was in trouble.<p>

First she had woken up finding herself covered in her master's blanket while the latter had escaped her sight, a fact that Signum was less then pleased about. Secondly it was breakfast time. Her master seemed to take great delight in having more people to feed, often pressing them with questions about the quality. It seemed that when Signum had tried to explain that the quality of the food did not matter she had somehow insulted her. Shirou had not only ordered them to eat his meals whenever possible, but had also ordered them to be brutally honest with him about the quality.

Their master seemed to have a little pride in his cooking skills, and thus the Wolkenritter indulged him on this matter as he saw fit.

"Uu…"

Vita was unable to hold in a pitiful whimper as Taiga continued her plundering of the meat, the woman's speed surpassing that of a regular human when it came to food. Thus she could only watch as one succulent piece of meat after another was brutally torn away from her sight.

Her despair was soon flipped over to joy as her master placed another plate in front of her, an offer Vita was eager to accept.

" Vita-chan, You really like Teriyaki, don't you!" Shirou smiled. The answer was obvious, if unspoken , as Vita inhaled the food, before coming to a sudden stop as she realized that Shirou, her fellow knights and Taiga were staring at her.

The fact that she had already emptied the plate didn't help her hide her embarrassment.

" Seconds?" The boy offered as he held out his hand gesturing at the bowl in Vita's hand.

"Yes please" The girl muttered as she stared to the ground, her face flushed as her hunger overtook the embarrassment.

* * *

><p>" Now don't forget, the emergency phone numbers are posted above the phone in the hallway, and you can always reach one of grandpa's employees using the third number, also make sure that Shirou gets enough sleep, I know that he tends to stay awake in that shed for too long. Make sure that he goes to school on time, he'll be going to middle school soon, after all, and we don't want him to get tardy. Also…."<p>

" Fujimura-san, You already told us this five minutes ago." Signum interrupted the rambling Taiga, as the girl repeated the checklist she had written down for the new inhabitants of the Emiya estate for the third time that day. " Do not worry, The young master and we will be fine."

"Ugh, having me look over you all for just a single week is way too short. I still don't get why grandpa trusts you enough to let you stay here."

"Please do convey our gratitude to Raiga-sama once again when you see him tonight." Signum responded at the girls mention of the old man.

"Hmm? Fine, I'll give him your regards then." Taiga snorted, before throwing the door open as she made her way out of the house. Signum watched as the girl walked down the street, before closing the door as she walked towards the living room, where her master was doing the dishes. Fujimura Taiga had been an interesting person. Simpleminded, but with the best interest for her master.

Fujimura Raiga had been another case.

* * *

><p><em>"Friend of Kiritsugu, you say?" The man stated as he looked Zafira and Signum in the eyes. The other Wolkenritter had remained at home on her command, ensuring that their master was guarded while she assessed the situation<em>

_" Yes", Signum replied, as she mentally walked through the cover story she and Shirou had made before coming here. "We…"_

_Before she had a chance to continue the man held up his hand, making her halt, before he wove it dismissively._

_" Leave us three alone for now," he ordered, and the men who had sat alongside them in the room stood up and walked out of the room without question. It was a display of power that she understood clearly, both showing that he could effortlessly command his men without any hesitation, and that he believed himself to be secure enough that he didn't need anyone to watch over him._

_" Continue," he spoke as the last men left the room, prompting her to continue._

_" Like I said, we have been friends with Kiritsugu ever since we…"_

_" As far as I know Kiritsugu had no friends outside this town."_

"_We were more like acquaintances" Zafira spoke up, only to halt as the man stared back at him._

"_How strange it is then, that you traveled all the way across the world just to meet up with an acquaintance without giving any notice."_

"_Like we said, we…" Signum spoke up once more, trying to find a means to regain control of the conversation._

"_Shall we drop this charade?"_

_Signum's first thought was to grasp for her sword as the man in front of them dropped that bombshell of a sentence, her trusty blade hanging in its compact form around her neck. But she paused as the man's frown turned into a small smile._

_" You know, my old man once taught me that the success of a long life in the business is to respect the unknown world in which people like Kiritsugu seem to dwell in, because the horrors from that world are sure to cut down anyone stupid enough to dig deep enough for them. I already have reasons to suspect that it was something from that side that devoured my friend. And now suddenly you show up at his son's doorstep, only days after his death."_

_Both Signum and Zafira remained silent as the man stood up, walking towards them with small steps._

_" Who do you serve?" Raiga asked the knight, looking them straight into their eyes._

_" We serve our master; Emiya Shirou" they replied in tandem._

_" Shirou-kun? Now what could he ever have done to deserve your loyalty?"_

_" Because he is the one who called for us." Signum stated._

"_As far as you told me you decided to simply visit, and now you are telling me it was Shirou who called for you? Your story isn't holding up very well."_

_Once more the two knight remained silent under the man's gaze, a tangible silence filling the room. When it became clear that the two would not answer his question Raiga pressed on._

"_Shirou already told me you wouldn't say much more than this. Even he won't tell me what's going on, and that's just as strange."_

"_I'm sorry, but this is all we can tell you, for Shirou's sake as well." Signum apologized to the man."All I can tell you is that we will guard him with our very lives, and will follow him no matter where it will take us."_

_The head of the Fujimura family blinked at the bold declaration, before letting out a sigh in response. " Very well," He spoke. "You came unarmed before me, and from what I can tell you are not unaware of the meaning of loyalty. I will allow you to continue to stay at the boy's side, but know this….."_

_The man sat up straight as his grin faded._

_" If the boy is harmed..."_

"_We will never allow that" Signum stated with a steeled voice, staring back at the man with a look showing the certainty of her statement._

_" Please, do look after Shirou for me then."_

_Signum bowed in response._

* * *

><p>In the end Fujimura Raiga had been quite generous, promising to provide them with real identities. Once they possessed those they would be free to walk the streets without question, but for now they were confined to the grounds of the house for the next few weeks. It gave her plentiful time to think over the man's final warning, a statement she had not taken lightly.<p>

"There are three families who the Fujimura's have stayed clear from ever since my grandfather's time. The Tohsaka, who live on the top of the hill of this side of town. The Makiri, who used to live close to the Tohsaka but have hidden themselves. Finally there's the Einzbern who don't have any ground in town, but possess a large amount of grounds outside Fuyuki. They are rumored to have a huge property inside the woods which nobody is permitted to enter."

Her master had not recognized any of the names, but had heard the rumors of the haunted house on top of the hill.

"Even so, even if a magus lived there, it isn't like we are going to draw their attention right?" Shirou asked his knight.

"I could go take a look- with Graf Eisen," Vita offered, to which Shirou rolled his eyes.

"Subtle Vita, subtle," Zafira groaned.

* * *

><p>" Come on Shirou-chan! If you freeze up, you die!" Tagia yelled, her cursed shinai connecting with Shirou's shoulder as it drove the boy to the ground. Shirou's attempt at an evasive move proved far too slow to prevent the cursed sword from extracting it's punishment on the boy's body.<p>

Zafira's eye twitched as the girl took on what she has once described as her 'victory pose', pointing two finger into the sky as she rested the shinai on her shoulder while sporting a fullblown grin.

" Jeez, Fuji-nee, You aren't holding back today, are you?" his master wheezed as he climbed back onto his feet.

" What are you talking about Shirou-chan!", his occasional sparring partner complained. "I went really easy on you just now, you're just still too slow to dodge even such a simple strike! Now make me my delicious victory dinner as promised!" The woman cackled, as she walked out of the dojo in search of a quick bath, leaving the guardian wolf behind with his master.

"She's right" The boy muttered. " I'm still too weak as I am right now."

" Do not worry master." Zafira spoke, trying to address his master's worries. " Any opponent that would dare to attack you physically stands no match against me or the other knights. Your power lies in the wielding of the book itself."

"That's not right Zafira", the boy interrupted his guardian, " Father told me that the body is the most important tool of a magic user. It's useless to have the ability to use magic if someone like Fuji-nee can just hit me on the head before I can even open a circuit. So far the only thing I have been able to do is the exercises dad taught me and training with Fuji-nee like this, but I'm still too slow."

"Well, it does seem that your reflexes are still underdeveloped. You can already anticipate how Taiga is going to attack, but it takes too long for your body to move into the correct positioning." Zafira noted as he recalled the previous spar.

"You really have a good insight into that sort of thing, don't you?" Shirou looked up at Zafira as he walked towards the entrance of the dojo. "How did you get so good at it?"

"I specialize in binding and close combat. My fighting style relies heavily on the reflexes and insight I have build up during my battles. Without those two skills I wouldn't be able to emerge victorious."

"So how did you train those skills?"His master asked him, stressing the question even more. "Is there some sort of special training?"

"Well" Zafira hesitated, trying to think of a better way to say it. "Practice, lots and lots of practice."

Zafira noted that his master was not amused, a small scowl making its way on Shirou's face. At least his master would most likely drop the idea of training in close combat skills after this with the harsh truth exposed. There was no need for him to fight at the frontlines after all.

Shirou remained silent for a while, before nodding as he came to a decision.

"Starting tomorrow I want you to help me train."

Zafira blinked as Shirou walked past him as he walked out of the dojo.

"What just happened?"

* * *

><p>From that day on Shirou worked himself even harder. Zafira took the order seriously, and even while pulling his punches Shirou's body felt like a punching bag, starting 30 minutes before Shirou had to stop to prepare breakfast. It took Shirou two weeks before he could finally dodge a single attack Zafira threw at him. In his excitement Shirou forgot that Zafira already had another punch heading towards his head, knocking the boy out once again. Zafira didn't know what to think of the boy, but he couldn't refuse his master's orders on the matter as their daily routine continued.<p>

Neither of them remembered when Signum started joining in, though both of them together turned Shirou's life into a gruesome training session every morning, leaving him barely enough time to fix breakfast.

It was strange to see him smile even after they ran him ragged like that; it was truly an unusual experience.

The boy continued his own training in the evening, practicing his sole magic skills of analysis and reinforcement, while filling his core after every training session to supply the book with the power it needed. Those days continued and they watched over their master as his abilities slowly increased, grasping every miniscule victory and progress with his own two hands.

Signum wondered when her willingness to train him had shifted from obeying his order to seeing how far he could go, almost rooting for him to succeed on every step on the way." I do not know any swordsmanship I can teach you," she had told him. "All I can teach you is how to get close to your opponent, and to find the opportunity to strike."

The sound of the shinai hitting flesh resounded trough the dojo every day.

Zafira wondered when he started looking forward to his daily session with his master, to see him crawl back up every time he fell, the smile never leaving his face." All I can teach you is how to hit a person, and how to prevent yourself from getting hit." Zafira had told him.

The sound of a body hitting the floor was a regular occurrence, but the time between drops slowly grew larger every day.

It was months later, when Shirou finally managed to parry one of Taiga's strikes during a sparring session, that they finally realized that their loyalty was no longer the force pushing them to serve their master, as they watched the boy stand in front of the bedazzled woman as Shirou's sword poked her in the stomach.

It was pride. Pride in the boy who had become their master, and who they had started to forge into the hero of his ideals. And even the sight of the peeved Taiga beating the crap out of their young master wouldn't diminish that feeling.

* * *

><p>" So you two won't be coming home for dinner today?" Shirou asked, speaking with Taiga over the telephone in the hallway, as the sound of Vita watching the TV filled the background.<p>

"Neko-chan and I are taking Shamal-chan out for a girls' night out after this!' Taiga replied happily. "That girl needs to get out more!"

"I see. I'll keep that in mind when shopping for dinner. Do you want me to leave some leftovers for you?"

" Yes, yes! Shirou-chan's cooking, Shirou-chan's cooking !" The woman sang on the other end of the phone, making Shirou sigh at the woman's immature behavior.

'Please grow up some more Fuji-nee' The boy thought to himself.

" Have a fun evening then!" he spoke loudly in the phone, desperately trying to get Taiga's attention while she was off in her dream world filled with food again. "And don't push Shamal around too much, she is still new around here!"

" Aww, don't be such a spoilsport, Shirou-chan!"

" I mean it, don't-"

*click*

Shirou raised his eyebrows, realizing that Taiga had just hung up on him. He walked back into the living room, where Vita had planted herself on the ground as she watched a comedy.

" Should you really be watching the television at this hour Vita-chan?" Shirou asked as he rummaged through the cabinets, looking trough what he still had for tonight's dinner.

" I'm doing it for culture assimilation. Unlike the others I can't go outside that much because everyone thinks I'm a sick girl." The girl replied , her tone revealing that even she didn't believe her excuse.

" …sick girl?" Shirou replied as he looked at her.

"I know, it's 'hormone imbalanced', but all those old ladies in the shopping district keep treating me like a sick little girl every time they see me outside." Vita shuddered as she remembered the negative effect of having to stick to her cover story. She wasn't a dress-up doll, damn it, no matter how many costumes Taiga picked up for her on her shopping sprees.

" Ah, but aren't you the shopping's district's local idol?" Shirou smirked as he recalled their last shopping trip.

Emiya Shirou had been more than willing to use any means to get the ingredients he wanted after all, even if it meant abusing said idol's popularity.

" Exactly!" The girl stubbornly puffed, as she returned to watching her broadcast.

Old people pinch way too hard when they think you are cute.

" Well, I'm going to shop for dinner right now, want to come?'

"…..no."

" If you come, you can pick dinner" The boy offered, as the girl tensed up as his treacherous words wormed themselves into her head..

Shirou smiled as Vita turned off the TV and stood up. " Stop wasting time and get moving!" the knight yelled at him as she walked past her master towards the front door.

"I take it we are eating Teriyaki tonight?"

"Be quiet!"

* * *

><p>" Fuji-nee, you promised me that you would go easy on Shamal-san!" An angry Shirou boomed at the intoxicated guardian as he towered over her, the woman incapable of standing on her own legs at this point as she crashed onto the floor.<p>

Apparently the girls' night out with Neko and Shamal had been a success, if that was what you could call the three drunk woman passing out in the entrance of the house.

" How was… How was I.. I supposed to know that she could put them away like…. like that!" The woman slurred as her intoxicated mind kept her from speaking up without losing track of her own sentence.

" How the hell did you three even get home?"

" I have NO idea!" Shamal slurred, before crashing down on the already unconscious Neko. Shirou simply blinked, before Signum and Zafira pulled Shamal and Neko from the ground as they carried her inside.

"I'm not carrying her" Vita spoke up as she pointed at the downed Tiger. 'I've seen this on TV, she's going to puke all over me the moment I pick her up."

"Now Vita that's-"

"Wait, not here… not over here!..."

The sound of Shamal emptying her stomach made him pause, as Signum's distraught voice filled the house.

"See! I told you," the girl spoke to her master as she watched Taiga stumble back on her feet with a cautious look.

"I-I think that was everything-no wait, it wasn't" Shamal's weakened and pitiful voice heralded a second round as Shirou walked into the house to find a mop and some hot water.

"I'm going to take another shower" Signum declared, her clothes covered in the former contents of Shamal's stomach, stated as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Let us never speak of this again." A very sober Shamal spoke up at breakfast, as both Neko ,Taiga and even Signum nodded with great fervor, the first two grasping their heads as the backlash of such an action after a night of alcohol made itself present.

Vita was especially chipper that day.

* * *

><p>Signum did not know what to think of the current situation. It wasn't until Shirou was in the second year of middle school that he met Matou Shinji, a boy the same age who he had been spending more time with lately. It was not their place to criticize their master on who he socialized with, and perhaps it was for the better that Shirou had found someone of his own age to talk to. Yet Signum couldn't completely suppress her dislike to the boy<p>

She even made sure to minimize her encounters with the boy, a task made more easy by the fact that he had only visited on a few occasions. When her master asked her about her evasive behavior she had replied that she just didn't like his haughty way of speaking, but didn't want to offend her master's guest.

Shirou had accepted it for now, and since Shinji barely came over it was something that wasn't spoken of after that.

But Signum wasn't able to set this aside, especially after she followed the boy to his home, at the top of the hill where the older mansions stood. To make things worse she had felt a presence when nearing the house that was simply nauseating, prompting her to make a detour of over an hour before she felt safe enough to return to her home.

She hadn't been able to drop the thought that it had felt like something had been watching her.

None of the other Wolkenritter ventured near the Matou residence after that, as per her orders, but Signum had not yet informed her master. Part of her wanted to believe that she was just being a little bit paranoid. There were no enemies here in Fuyuki that could be aware of them, so there was no need for him be on high alert like she had been the last few days….

It bothered her that she was so willing to believe her own delusions. When had she grown so soft?

"So what you are saying is that the knowledge in the book is not expressed in words?" Shirou scratched his head as he tried to keep up with Shamal's explanation on the book - it had finally gathered enough power to unlock some of its secrets, with Shirou's addition of over a hundred pages in the last 2 years.

With a single page every week on average it would still take him around seven years, but he was patient enough for the book to complete itself. It wasn't as if he needed its full power any time soon anyway.

"That's right. While the pages are fixed containers of the book's power, the displayed text on them is malleable to the situation at hand. If you desire knowledge on a certain spell or subject the book will simply alter its current page to display the details of that information. This way the book can gather and display more knowledge then what these 666 pages can hold."

" That does sounds reasonable," The boy confessed, continuing to turn the pages in the book as he closely looked at the empty pages. As he reached the end he turned the book over, starting at the front again.

"Yes, " his teacher agreed, before continuing. "You can simply will the book to show of execute a certain spell, or give you an overview based on styles or purposes, like search patterns and flight spells."

"Did you just say flight spells?" They boy spoke up with a boyish glee in his voice. He suddenly remembered that while his Wolkenritter could fly, they had never been able to explain how exactly they managed to defy gravity, nor had they been able to teach him in the art.

In response the tome shifted the context on the paper, the title Sleipnir appearing on top of the open page. Shirou grasped the book as he greedily started to read, only for his smirk to fade away as he slowly started to realize something important.

"Shamal, I can't do math at this level. How am I supposed to use this?" He implored the blonde, who smiled back at him with a apologetic look.

"The book can do some of the calculations, but for the rest you will have to-"

"Study?"

"Yes"

Shirou let out a sigh as he pressed his head against the book. "Since when do heroes have to do math homework?" he moaned.

* * *

><p>"Well, Emiya-kun, I never knew you were the type who liked to crunch numbers like this," Shinji joked as he took in the sight of his friend , Shirou full of rapt attention while throwing himself at his homework during the lunch break. " Any reason why you suddenly find it so interesting?"<p>

"Let's just say I got some motivation…" Shirou replied with his casual smile, before turning back to his math.

"You're a strange one Emiya-kun" Shinji replied with his signature smile, before walking towards a group of students on the other side of the classroom. Shirou continued unhindered as he wrote the equations with his right hand, as his left hand played with the small chain resting around his neck, carrying the small cross underneath his shirt. He had started keeping the book with him all the time as soon as he finally managed to pull off his first control of the book, to return it to its sealed state in the form of the pendant now resting against his chest. It wasn't much, but it had been the first sign that he was slowly getting control over the ancient mystic code, thus giving him even more reason to carry it proudly with him (as long as nobody noticed it, of course). As people around him chatted, he ignored them as he tried to focus on his homework.

Concentrating himself seemed to take much more then it usually did. Normally he found it easy to block out everything besides his goal, but today he felt a bit heavy. His training this morning had felt harsher than normal, and normally he would feel more energetic.

Somehow everything felt off today, it was as if-

His body felt as if it was burning, but it wasn't his circuits. He had properly shut those off after filling his core this morning…

His core was empty. Why was it empty when he had filled it-

Filled it-

Why was it so dark suddenly?

Did someone call out his name?

Why was he falling?

-403 empty pages remaining-


	6. Boy meets girl I

Fate/Night Sky  
>Boy meets girl(I)<p>

*click*

*click*

*click*

*CLANG*

Shirou woke up as the symphony of gears slowly played their tune, the alien yet strangely familiar design slowly spinning and turning as he found himself on a familiar sandy hill. He couldn't remember how or when he had arrived here. In fact, he couldn't even remember where he had been before coming here. His mind simply refused to to come up with any memory from wherever he had come from before entering this desolate place.

*click*

*click

*click*

*CLANG*

Even so he knew this was not his home, the lifeless hills bathing in darkness clearly couldn't never have supported any live in this place. Yet at the same time he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was somehow his home as well, the single hill not shrouded in darkness evoking a strange feeling of familiarity. His eyes widened as he spotted several metal chains partly covered in the sand, as if the sand had tried to swallow them hole, to remove them from the surface of the hill itself. He bowed down to the ground as he reached out with both hands, planning on finding out what more the sand was covering from his sight.

_"!"_

The melody of the gears turning stopped, their movements frozen as if time itself had been put on hold.

Something echoed through the emptiness. Shirou paused as the voiceless cry tore directly into his mind, bypassing his ears altogether as his hands stopped mere inches away from the chains on the ground. Two hands suddenly latched themselves onto his wrists as they were pulled into the air, away from the chains which had been in reach. Shirou looked up as he followed the limbs that had attached themselves to his wrists with his eyes, only for his view to be filled by a pair of red eyes accompanied by their owner. Gray hair, almost like strands of silver with an eerie glow, lazily drifted around her head where it formed a halo, the woman somehow floating above him. She wore a black garment similar to the ones his Wolkenritter had worn when they appeared, along with a familiar necklace around her neck. The sight of the familiar golden cross made him look down towards his own chest, his surprise growing even greater as he realized that his own pendant had disappeared.

Part of Shirou's mind was stunned by the sight of the strange woman. The sight of the tall beauty, dressed in a simple black minidress decorated with a golden belt along with fingerless gloves and armored black boots, left him incapable of wording his thoughts. His mind desperately tried to think of something, anything to say until his gaze focused on the slender legs of the woman…

"Why do your wear socks that don't match?" He spoke up, the first coherent thought that his mind produced fleeing from his mouth before he even realized it. The woman slowly blinked at the boy's sudden remark before looking down, confirming that she wore one sock the size of a pantyhose, covering most of her right leg, the other barely covered her left foot. She simply stared at him in utter confusion as if she herself had never though anything of it until this moment.

"You…..just noticed it yourself?" Shirou guessed, taking the confused look of the woman as a confirmation of the question. " Anyway, who….."

Pain. Unimaginable pain.

His leg burned, his flesh crying out in agony as if molten metal was being poured over it. Shirou looked down to find that the previously inert chains has somehow gotten itself tied around his lower leg, and was climbing up towards his knee. A second searing pain announced a second chain that was now working its way alongside his other leg before the pain intensified as his legs started to buckle. Dark reddish tinted lines appeared on his limbs, slowly growing into his flesh from where the chains met his flesh. A third flare of agony drew his attention back to his wrists ,where similar markings to grow from the place she was holding onto him, worming themselves up the length of his lower arms. He turned his eyes toward the woman in panic, trying to understand what was going on, and what she was doing to him.

And more importantly, why?

Her eyes were filled with pain, her panic growing stronger as she realized that she couldn't pull him free. The despair in her eyes as she realized that his lower arms had already been consumed was enough for Shirou to drop any suspicion to the woman as he renewed his effort to get free from the ground. It seemed that the woman was nearing her limit, her pull faltering as the chains made their way from his limbs onto his torso. In an act of desperation she latched onto him, embracing him from behind as black wings erupted from her back. Once more she pulled at him, the lift of the black appendages pulling form form the grounds as the chains cried out at the attempt to pull him free...

But they wouldn't release him, the chains slowly started to overcome the woman's final burst of strength. Soon Shirou's feet were bound to the hill once more, the chains refusing to let go of their prize. Her face fell when she noticed that the black lines now also spawned from ever place her body had made contact with him, his back covered with the corrupted markings. Faced with the sight of a person looking at him with such despair, Shirou simply wanted to tell her it was okay, but his voice refused to work as the darkness crept up his throat.

All he could so was smile at her.

So he simply smiled…

_The man simply smiled at him as the golden light blinded his eyes. Slowly the pain faded away as he fell asleep once more…_

A golden light erupted from his body, cleansing his flesh from the taint, before it rippled through the empty space. For a single moment Shirou was filled with relief, before the woman opened her mouth in a soundless cry , the woman trembling uncontrollably as her scream, filled with pain and fear, echoed through his mind. The golden radiance which had cleansed him scorched her skin and her flesh with no mercy, her body burning under the golden storm. The force that was unleashed from his body was pushing her away, as if it was actively trying to keep her away from him. Shirou didn't understand what was going on, but that didn't matter.

Her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

She was in danger, that was all that mattered. He reached out to her, desperately trying to grab her arm before the golden wind would blow her away from him. She reached out towards him, her hand almost succeeding in reaching his own.

Their fingers touched for a single moment.

The golden wind roared, and the screams of fear turned into screams of pain as her fingers turned into golden dust along with her arm. Shirou could only look as she continued to fall apart under the unrelenting storm until only even her face faded away, red eyes remaining for a final second before they, too, vanished. Her final wail echoed through the emptiness in his mind.

The boy sank to his knees as her final wail replayed itself in his mind. Again, Shirou had failed to save someone. It did not matter that he didn't know who she was, or whatever role she had played in the strange events which had brought him here.

She had reached out to him for help, and Emiya Shirou had failed to save her.

*click*

*click*

*click*

*CLANG*

The dream collapsed.

* * *

><p>"This is…"<p>

Instead of the familiar ceiling of his bedroom, Shirou woke up watching the fluorescent lamp of the infirmary, his body aching all over as if he had just finished the longest workout ever. He tried to get up, only for his muscles to refuse the order, dropping him back onto his back before he could even get up halfway. His action did draw the attention of the nurse, as she immediately moved to his side as his vision started to go black again.

"So… tired"

He couldn't remember having felt this tired before. It was as if his body had almost burned itself out. He suddenly realized that his circuits had opened themselves in his sleep, his body so heavy that the burning sensation of the magic circuits acting barely registered in his mind. He closed them with his mental trigger and the burden on his body lessened somewhat, his core somewhat filled again. Something must have happened to him for his circuits to have activated themselves like this….

_….the previously inert chains had somehow - was climbing up towards….._

_….similar markings - the place she was…_

_…..golden light erupted….._

_….she continued - the unrelenting storm._

He couldn't remember. Even though he should, even though it had been very important, he could no longer remember.

"A dream?" Shirou murmured, before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>The physician dispatched by Fijimura Raiga had been unable to explain why Shirou had collapsed, something he repeatedly tried to explain to a somewhat emotional and unreasonable Taiga who was convinced that Shirou was terminally ill. In the end he had simply prescribed lots of rest for the young boy to let his body recover from what seemed to be a combination of a common cold, overexertion, and a lack of sleep.<p>

Shamal herself had been somewhat more successful in diagnosing him, pinning down the cause of his crash to his body shutting down in response to a huge drain on his magical power on a cellular level, meaning that he almost managed to run out of od.

Something besides his regular training had drained him dry, a fact that somewhat worried both Shirou and his medical caretaker. Shamal had already made clear that she wouldn't allow him to practice without her supervision for as long as they couldn't figure this out.

After he recovered of course.

Shirou had been unable to refuse the blond's demand, her usual kind smile replaced with her professional stare as she laid down the rules for his recovery. This had left Shirou in the tender care of a worried Taiga who, to his surprise, had somehow gained the full cooperation of his Wolkenritter to make sure that he did get the prescribed rest. Which meant no physical training, no magecraft practice and worst of all….

"IT'S BURNING! IT'S BURNING! PUT IT OUT SHAMAL!" Taiga cried, as smoke filled the kitchen

...Shamal's and Taiga's cooking.

"I-I can still make it, if I just…" The healer stammered as she tried to save her dish.

"WAAGH! KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"How can you kill something with fire if it's already burning? "Vita murmured in front of the TV, lounging on her usual spot as she ignored the chaos as the two incompetent cooks tried to save dinner. Zafira had already fled the room, his sensitive nose not capable of handling the smell drifting into the room anymore.

Signum sat next to her master, Shirou leaning against her shoulder with a blank expression on his face. The older knight slowly petted the head of her distraught master as he desperately tried to maintain composure in front of his knights, a single tear streaming down his cheek as he took in the devastation that the two woman had unleashed on the first grade ingredients he had managed to bring home with Zafira and Vita on their last shopping trip.

"Aaaaah." Shirou winched in agony as another pan went up in flames. Signum slung her arm around her master as she pressed his face against her chest, trying to shield his gaze from the unfolding disaster.

"IT'S GETTING AWAY! STOP IT BEFORE IT CAN MULTIPLY!"

Shirou trembled against Signum's bosom as Taiga's cry filled both him and Signum with dread.

* * *

><p>In the end Taiga and Shamal still managed to salvage something eatable form the wreckage, serving something passing for dinner to the other members of the makeshift family. A weary looking Shirou took some delight from the fact that even Signum, who had once stated that the quality of the food didn't matter to her, was eating the food with an less then amused expression. It was a sight that made him feel a little better, fueling his pride in his cooking skills. Though part of him did feel bad at the dejected face on Shamal's face as she took a bite of her own cooking.<p>

She had honestly tried, but it seems that her level of cooking really was even lower then Taiga's. It made him wonder how someone who understood the working of the human body so intimately could still managed to conjure dishes which could be labeled as poison.

It looked like cooking classes were in order for the dejected blond.

The evening passed swiftly with Shirou confined to the living room, forced to relax and watch TV with Vita using him as a pillow as the other washed the dishes. The remainder of Shirou's evening was filled with a somewhat interesting TV program, one which Vita apparently liked to watch. A potential trip to the shed had been denied to him with Signum actually keeping the key of the shed on her person, denying him of any chance to 'borrow' it.

The ban on his training was taken very seriously by his oldest knight.

Taiga left for her own home after making sure that Shirou had been put to bed, Vita sleeping in a futon next to his to make sure someone was always near him when if he had a relapse. Laying in bed, Shirou could still sense his Wolkenritter walk around the house. He spotted Zafira walking around the perimeter while Signum and Shamal Retreated to their rooms for the moment. The presence of his family gave the boy a sense of security, and soon his mind started drifting off as he slowly fell asleep.

That night he once more dreamt of fire and death, his previous dream forgotten.

* * *

><p>For Shirou, who disliked being cared for by others, the last few weeks had proven to be a challenge. He had been allowed to go back to school after a few days, but Taiga and his knights had forcefully put all his training on hold, with at least one of them keeping an eye on him at any point. It had taken quite a round of persuasion Taiga to get permission to work in his kitchen, a feat only managed thanks to the combined appeal of the other inhabitants of the Emiya residence.<p>

His first day back at school had been arkward, the other student looking at him as if the slightest breeze would make him keel over again. At least Shinji had been able to dismantle the awkward tension, stating that "Only someone like Emiya-kun could be dumb enough to have his brain melt down once he takes his math homework seriously."

Shinji's remark had hit home somewhat. Until now Shirou had only spent enough time on his schoolwork to retain his slightly above average grades, feeling that investing the time in his thaumaturgy was more important for his own goal. Now he suddenly found himself with a large obstacle for his new type of magecraft, and he was forced to throw every spare minute of his free time into his studies, encouraged as his growing skills allowed him to uncover more and more about the workings of the flight spells stored inside the tome.

It was a good thing he could now carry the tome around in a less suspicious form. Taiga had bought the excuse that Shirou had gotten the necklace as a gift from Shamal, who had gotten it on the market a while ago as a present.

It also looked rather nice on him, according to the blond.

A small light originating from a small floating ball of light dispelled the darkness inside the bedroom as Shirou sat on his futon, clad in his pajama's. The book was placed on his pillow as he turned over yet another page, the snoring of his fellow roommate a sure indication that Vita was most certainly asleep.

He knew that the act of turning a page of the book wasn't really necessary, the information that he needed could easily be displayed on the same page. Even so he somehow felt that the act of turning the page itself was something that was a natural part of reading a book, no matter what kind of book it was.

Taiga would be less then pleased if she discovered that the three extra hours of sleep Shirou was supposed to get by locking him in his bedroom were consumed by studying the book, even more if she found out that Vita was failing in her duty to make sure he was sleeping.

It was rather amusing to see the small knight drop into a deep sleep in less than a few seconds after hitting the futon though.

Shamal had not been boasting when she said that the book contained an incredible amount of knowledge. The information on the mechanics of flying spells alone had taken him more than a week to read through. The fact that the book was able to project related images and other visual representations came as a surprise to the boy at first, but soon it became obvious that a image really was worth as much as a thousand words.

He finally understood why Signum, who he had about it the day before, had said that true aerial combat was something could only be taught by experience. The sight of dozens of humans shooting trough the sky as points of light, with battles decided in attacks barely visible to the eye, was one that was indescribable with words. It was as he was reliving a memory; he could hear the high pitched sound of high speed spell casting, the wind howling in his ears, and the feeling of it blowing through his hair before something slammed into his armor, something small piercing his chest…..

The sensation of pain threw Shirou back into the real world as he dislodged himself from the memory the book had been showing him. The taste of blood inside his mouth, a reminder of the last part of the memory, was a brutal reminder that the memory was not that of a pleasant time. The feeling of holding a familiar sword in his right hand, a blade he easily recognized from Signum's late night exercises in swordplay, was an obvious clue of who the original owner of the memory had been. The revelation that this had been a battle from Signum's past dampened his enthusiasm, especially when he realized that she had not escaped that fight unharmed. With a sight he dropped the tome next to his futon while cleared his mind, before summarizing the results of his late night studies inside his head once more.

Levitation was a simple thing, which merely required the user to use his prana to create a small amount of thrust while using a barrier construct to negate the gravitational pull on the user. To put it simply, the user creates a small barrier around his body, as if it were a second layer of clothes, with the property of 'being almost weightless,' and anchors it to his physical body. It was apparently the first principle to what eventually would lead to the development of the Knight's Armor, which consists of dozens of such barriers, each with a different function for defensive or offensive capabilities.

All the mage then needed was a source of thrust, usually one or two constructs positioned on the legs which converted prana into movement, thus giving the mage the required thrust to levitate from the surface. For some reason most mages preferred to use energy wings positioned on the legs, waist, wrists or the back. The book had even captured a image from a man who had created a spell which allowed him to generate thrust from a set of wings attacked to his ears. The image had looked quite silly, and Shirou wondered what had inspired the man to do something like that.

Belkan knights seemed to prefer simple designs, incorporating the flight spells into their armor and implementing the thrust from their boots and gauntlets. The Wolkenritter apparently had their flight spells incorporated into their bodies, as they were able to use them even without summoning any kind of armor.

True flight was a whole different story. Levitating was nothing more than floating around, which only required the user to regulate the amount of thrust and the vector to move in the direction one wanted to go. Sudden movements were enough for a mage to start tumbling around on his axes, leaving him defenseless, and unable to move. The image of a amateur magus using maximum thrust from his feet while spinning around until his head pointed towards the ground had firmly entrenched that point into Shirou's mind. He did not want to end up planted in the ground like a turnip. A part of him hoped that the man had survived the impact to learn from his mistake.

True flight required a whole different level of barrier use. To prevent tumbling around one's axes the magus had to use a multilayered barrier replacing the single point of gravity in the centre of the body with three or more points placed in an equiangular spread across the mages body. This gives a mage a much more stable basis, but increases the required calculations. It meant that every potential thrust had to be calculated while taking the different points of gravity in mind. The magus also had to adapt both his thrust and his flight barrier to weather conditions, the remaining gravitational forces, and enemy fire.

Swift moment meant that several vectors of thrust had to be generated at the same time, and the calculations had to be done at moment's notice. The burden of those calculation was one of the reasons why flight capable mages were rare, and why almost everyone of them required devices to do the calculations for them in flight.

Shirou's Book of Darkness could easily perform the required calculations, but only if Shirou's mind could supply the required input and comprehend the results. Shirou had to understand the math that was used before he could delegate the calculations to the device. It was like learning how to perform an complex calculation which takes you weeks, only for the teacher to tell you that from now on you can use the calculator which has the function programmed under a single button.

At least he was getting better with the math.

* * *

><p>Eventually Shirou fell back into his regular rhythm, morning practice with his knights, school, dinner, thaumaturgy and some late-night reading to end the day. Soon, spring had passed and as the summer break approached the students eagerly chatted during the breaks between classes on what they were going to do in their free time. Trips to the beach were planned, sleepovers were discussed, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood.<p>

Except for Shirou, whose inability to master even basic levitation had been gnawing on him for the last few months. He had finally mastered the required calculations, with the side-effect of earning himself the position of 'the guy who will explain the math to you if you ask him' as a side-effect, but was still unable to control and maintain the barrier required for levitation. Shamal had called it a problem with the 'imagining' of the construct

The problem was the fact that Emiya Shirou was a magus. If you asked a typical nine year old girl how a magical girl could fly, she would say that it was obvious. For her the image of a flying magical girl was something she had taught herself from anime and manga. For a person who had never heard of magic the concept of flying would have been harder to imagine, but when approaching it from a scientific viewpoint they could eventually get the picture.

The problem was that Emiya Shirou was not a magic user but a magus, whose image of magic was composed from the harsh laws of thaumaturgy. Shirou simply couldn't image the concept of a 'flying magus.' In Shirou's mind the only way a magus could fly without using technology was by using advanced magecraft to float or by getting blown up by another magus. Shirou had painfully found out that simply trying to force start the spell by flooding it with power was not an option. He hoped Fuji-nee would never find out how he had managed to slam into the ceiling of the shed, or why the blanket that was covering part of the floor now contained several tears in it.

The worst part was that his knights had no idea on how to help him with this problem. They simply couldn't remember how it was before they managed to fly without any problem. The age of the book and its protectors, which had escaped Shirou's mind for a while had painfully been shoved onto the foreground of his mind as the issue brought that particular point back to his attention. It was easy to forget that Vita, the rude and painfully honest girl around the same size as him, was most likely five times older then the oldest human on this planet. It was just that Shirou tended to forget that as she lazed in front of the TV, or as she tried to evade the old ladies at the market as they went shopping for groceries.

"Well, don't you look as bright as always Emiya-kun! Something bothering you?"

Shirou's thought were abruptly interrupted as Shinji called out to him, the boy waiting at the door of the classroom. "If you are done pondering over your personal life, why don't you join us on the sports field? We 'do' have gym classes right now." They boy laughed, grinning before leaving the classroom as he walked down the hallway

Shirou dismissed his current line of thought as he scrambled to catch up with the rest of the class.

Perhaps some exercise would help him clear his mind.

* * *

><p>In the end even the gym classes had not been able to extinguish Shirou's foul mood. He had been picked with several others to return the equipment to storage, their class being the last one to use the equipment for this day. Shirou had soon offered to do it himself, prompting the other two boys to thank him before speeding off to enjoy their free time. It took Shirou less than half an hour to clean up. As he closed the door to the equipment shed he noticed that the third years had forsaken their duty to clean after themselves, leaving a jumping pole with the landing pad outside. Shirou walked toward it as he studied it closely. The bar was placed way too high. Not even one third of the third years would be able to clear it. One could say that it was an impossible challenge.<p>

Shirou took a few steps back, before he started running.

* * *

><p>It was pure coincidence. The sole reason she was here was because she was the vice-president of the student-council of her own school. She had taken this errand simply to get away from Issei for a moment, the student-council's president more than willing to hand her the task to get her out of his sight. She was only here because they couldn't get along.<p>

But here she stood by the school entrance, watching the boy trying to clear that bar. Unconsciously, part of her felt jealous of the idiot that kept on running like an idiot. He should have known it was impossible. He must know nothing would change that, but he keeps trying. It's as if he believes the effort was what mattered.

It was something Tohsaka Rin could never do. She had always been like that. She always determined whether or not something was possible. If she realized it was impossible then she gave up. She didn't try what she couln't do, and never regretted it. The girl known as Tohsaka Rin is a cold and calculating person and was proud it.

It is because of this that she can be the proud and elegant magus of the Tohsaka family after all.

But still, a small part of her wonders sometimes, how it would be like to just keep trying without a thought for whether something was possible.

The sight of the boy, displaying the very mindset she will never have, burns into her mind. She watches him jump over the bar, fall down and get up again. He didn't stop after five jumps, nor after then. She didn't know when she started counting, but before she knew it he had already tried to jump the bar over thirty times.

He wasn't stopping.

He just kept going like an idiot.

Why wouldn't he just stop already?

Why did she keep watching him?

What time is it anyway?

Rin almost let out a cry of surprise as she realised that she should have been back at her own school over an hour ago. She rushes off in a hurry, trying to clear her mind of the sight that she had just seen.

Yet part of her can't resist being happy that someone as stupid like him existed.

* * *

><p>Another spectator has been watching the boy from the other side of the field. The girl simply watched him, her thoughts muddled by the pain of her own body and her self-induced mental isolation.<p>

At first she simply wanted him to fail, give up and walk away. It was hopeless after all, there was no way he could ever make it. But to her surprise, he persisted, and as the hours passed he continued to jump over and over again, never reaching his goal, but never giving up. As time passed her hate and surprise made way for worry as he showed no sign of stopping.

He kept failing, ended up falling to the ground, but somehow he kept going, as if the pain and the failed attempts meant nothing to him. He simply pursued that goal of jumping across the bar with everything he had.

He fell again.

He stood up once more.

He just kept going like an idiot.

It made her feel that he was probably someone dependable, but at the same time she felt lonely as she watched the boy run against the setting sun.

Why could he keep on running like that?

Why was he so much stronger?

* * *

><p>His mind is clear. He takes the same steps he took the last countless attempts, and launches himself through the air. He stopped thinking a long time ago, his mind having shifted into the emptiness he normally reserves for his magecraft.<p>

Breathe in- Breathe out-

It doesn't matter if it is possible or not. He will simply jump. If he makes it then it's possible, if he doesn't make it then he'll try again until he does. The fact that he can jump is all that matters, and thus he runs once again before jumping.

He makes the jump countless times, both physically and inside his head. He has no technique that can help him, no cutting edge trick to get him past that bar.

So he simply jumps, fails, and gets up again.

Breathe in- Breathe out-

His body protests, three hours of jumping forcing his body to its limit as he prepares himself for another jump.

His mind is empty, there is nothing else besides the bar in front of him. He takes the steps, and bends his knees before launching himself as he glides through the air, the setting sun illuminating the sport field in a red glow as he-

-basks in the light of the sun which floats high in the sky, illuminates the green fields below. A cold wind blowing from the north makes the silver locks of his hair dance as he floats among the clouds Fingers shiver as the cold wind nips at his exposed digits, before they are warmed with a single thought as-

- He twists around in the sky as he sees the bar closing in on him, his flight still too low to pass the bar. All he needs is -

- The black wings exert their force on the wind, the little thrust they currently produce enough to allow her to dance around on the currents as she reached out to a small bird that flew within reach-

A painful snap in his lower leg returned Shirou to reality. The boy immediately noticed that his landing had been off, which had forced his foot in an unnatural angle. He slowly pulls his leg from under the bar that the offended limb had apparently pulled along in his descent, his ankle screaming for justice as he winces. He realizes that he managed to jump over the bar, but that his feet had apparently pulled the damn thing down with him. The very fact that he even got above the damn thing in the first place was already confusing him, his jump alone could never have carried him over it. He clearly remembered seeing the pole coming towards him-

So he simply pushed off against the air, giving himself the needed to levitate over the bar, a single stroke of his wings enough to cross the unbreakable barrier that had eluded him for the past three hours. For a single moment that woman flying above those green fields and this boy jumping on the red-colored field had been the same person, free from the ground while gliding on dark wings.

And as he sensed Vita coming towards him with an alarming speed, the girl probably angered by the fact that he was two hours late for making dinner, they boy laughed; even the pain in his leg couldn't suppress the feeling of accomplishment that swelled in his chest.

It was only later that night that Shirou realized that he had never had seen that particular image in his entire study of the book, nor that he recognized the person from whom the memory had been taken.

So why had it felt so eerily familiar?

* * *

><p>Matou Sakura trembled as she walked back home. It was already getting dark, the sun having set half an hour ago. She has simply spend hours watching the boy jump the bar, until something had happened at the very end.<p>

They boy had somehow used magic, while not using magecraft.

Her affinity for absorption allowed her to sense the circuits of a potential magus from a distance, the small amounts of prana leaking from even inactive circuits standing out to a magus of the Matou line. She had known that the boy in front of her had the potential to be a magus, the power leaking from his circuits showing that they had been used recently at their true capacity. Thus she shouldn't have been surprised by the mystery that the boy had shown at the end of the day…

It wouldn't have, if it had been a result of simple Thaurmaturgy.

But there had been no such thing, no sense of power from his dormant circuits as the black wings materialized for an instant, pushing the boy over the bar. They had faded away moments later, leaving the boy to crash into the ground.

For a moment both worry and surprise had almost driven her to run towards him, before sensing another presence coming closer. She watched as another girl, a small redhead like the boy, started yelling at him before supporting the boy as they moved on.

She had left the scene soon after that, confused about what had transpired. She walked towards the Matou household as she replayed the events of the day in her head, trying to decide what to do about the latest experience. In the end she decided to keep this to herself, fearing that her grandfather might blame her incompetence for failing to understand what had happened.

Yes, it would be better if he didn't know about this. She probably wouldn't meet that boy again after today anyway. It had been a chance encounter, what were the odds that she would actually meet him face to face again?

* * *

><p>The next day Sakura noticed that all traces of magic had removed themselves from the Matou house, meaning that Zouken had taken himself into the basement. This was an indication that Shinji had brought someone with him today, most likely a friend of his. Sakura simply followed the sound of her brother's voice towards the living room. Shinji noticed her as soon as she walked into the room, immediately walked towards her before dragging her along to the couch, where another boy sat, most likely the guest that Shinji had brought along with him.<p>

"Shirou, I totally forgot this is the first time you actually got to meet her. This is my little sister, Matou Sakura. Sakura, this is my classmate Emiya Shirou. He's a bit of an idiot sometimes, but he is really dependable!" Shinji pushed the girl in front of him as he introduced her. Sakura simply bowed in response before facing her guest.

She froze, her introduction paused as she took sight of the boy her brother had been talking about.

"Nice to meet you!" Shirou smiled, standing up as he offered the girl a hand, the latter not even noticing the gesture as she continued to stare at him.

"Eh? "

"Now Sakura, don't make your big brother look like a fool!" Shinji prodded his sister with an impatient tone, a glance of annoyance creeping on his expression before his usual smile returned. " Be polite and introduce yourself to your sempai!"

"M-Matou Sakura. I-I'll be In your care, Emiya-sempai" She managed to squeak out, suddenly very much aware that the two boys were staring at her, one annoyed and one concerned.

"Likewise." Shirou replied with a smile.


	7. Meetings I

Many thanks for Shinaobi an LinkHyrule for beta-reading this for me.

Fate/Night Sky  
>Meetings(I)<p>

"For local news: Officials have officially closed the case on the Fuyuki fire that devastated the community in the winter of-"

"Old news..."

"- the falcon makes its way towards the unsuspecting prey as-"

"Seen it already..."

" -The economic health of Japan has never been as -"

"Boring…"

"- taking his opponent out with a vicious punch! The referee is furious as he - "

"Totally fake…"

It was an ordinary evening for Shirou. The living room was filled with the background noises of Vita shifting through TV-channels along with the sound of dishes and pans being rinsed, washed and put down to dry. This evening it was Shirou and Shamal who manned the kitchen sink, cleaning up the mess they had made earlier during their cooking lessons. Shamal's mood had improved considerably ever since she had been allowed back into the kitchen, though Shirou had insisted that she'd refrain from cooking without his supervision. had been quite an improvement in her cooking skill after starting her training alongside her master.

Still, even that had not been enough to suppress Vita's urge to maintain a direct line of sight on the newly purchased fire-extinguisher adorning the wall near the entrance of the kitchen whenever Shamal was allowed to set foot there.

On this particular evening the room was only occupied by Shirou, Signum, Vita and Shamal. Taiga had left the house sometime after dinner, lamenting that she hadn't finished her work yet, and so Shirou had send Zafira with her to walk her home, for the company if not for actual protection.

Perhaps it was more for the sake of anyone stupid enough to try to rob the girl who carried a cursed shinai with her.

Shirou dried his hands after placing the last piece of dishware in the cabinet, taking off his apron as he turned towards the living room. At first it looked like it was any regular evening in the ordinary living room with the small girl planted in front of the TV. Shamal had placed herself at the table, reading one of the magazines that Taiga had introduced to her. A purple glow in the corner of his eyes drew Shirou's attention towards Signum, who was focused on the small metal cylinder she was holding between her fingertips as it illuminated her surroundings with a pinkish light. Next to her several more were placed on the ground, and on her other side stood a small container, which held three more cylinders.

Shirou walked towards the knight, sitting down next to her as he took a closer look at the item she was holding. At this range he could sense the prana that his knight was pouring into the object. His eyes drifted to the small container as he realized that the tree cylinders inside were densely packed with prana as well, each containing enough force to power Sleipnir, his newly acquired spell, for at least an hour. If used all at once it would be enough to turn a regular spell into a barrier piercing explosive strike…

"These are Belkan cartridges, aren't they?" Shirou spoke up as Signum placed the fourth cartridge inside the container, his mind recalling everything he had read about them so far.

"You are correct," Signum answered. "I assume that you have already covered the information on these if you recognized them already?"

"Only the basics," the boy confessed. "I know that Belkan knights use them to supply raw power to their attacks, allowing them to use attacks with piercing properties without sacrificing time to perform longer casting rituals."

"Correct, but a knight can also use the cartridges to overpower his attacks so he can greatly exceed his normal capacity" Signum added. "However, this is highly taxing on the body, so prolonged use of such tactics is mostly self-destructive."

"To use magic that exceeds his own capacity will destroy a magus," Shirou replied, citing one of the lessons that his father had drilled into him. "Not even Belkan knights can escape their limits as easy as that."

"Only a fool tries to wields a power that goes beyond his own control," Signum turned to the boy as she smiled. "And that's why every aspiring hero should know his own limits."

"- that wasn't a compliment, was it?" Shirou muttered, both Signum and Shamal smiling at the small jab. "But charged cartridges can only be stored for a few weeks tops before they lose their charge. What do you need these cartridges for? "

"You finally managed to master basic levitation a short while ago," Signum pointed out. "Thus we are going to need a much larger space to continue your training in aerial movement and basic aerial combat. I suspect that doing this in Fuyuki will draw too much unwanted attention, so I am preparing these cartridges to facilitate the book's Dimensional Transfer spell."

Shirou nodded at the woman's explanation before he caught on to the last part. "Wait, are you actually suggesting that we use the tome to transport us to another part of the world? "

"No, master," Signum replied with a small smile. "I'm suggesting that we hold our next training session off-planet."

Shirou was rooted in place, unable to speak a single word as he tried to imagine how another place, another world would look like. He simply nodded at his knight as….

"- to boldly go where no man has gone before!"

"Vita, maybe you should turn off the TV for a while," Shamal said slowly.

"But this is Star Trek! They got space so wrong that it's hilarious!"

With that said, the almost ordinary evening at the Emiya residence continued.

* * *

><p>"I propose a toast: congratulations to Hayate-chan on her full recovery!" Lindy Harlaown spoke to the crowded room, her statement soon answered with several cheers as Nanoha, Fate and their friends raised their own drinks in salutation while smiling.<p>

"C-Come on! It was only exhaustion and a broken arm, It's not like I had to relearn how to walk Hayate stammered at the attention, obviously embarrassed by the gesture of the admiral. " It's mostly my fault anyway," she scratched her head as she tried to hide her embarrassment, "I was pushing myself way too hard…"

"That's because you were acting like a fool trying to imitate another idiot," Chrono interrupted Hayate's excuse with a sigh. "You two can't imagine how glad we are that you finally stopped ignoring our warnings as you maimed yourself with those ridiculous training sessions. I always had my doubts about them, but this really proved my point."

"Chrono-kun!" Hayate looked at the boy with a mixture of shock and anger. "Just because I'm not strong enough to keep up with Nanoha doesn't mean that—"

"He is right Hayate-chan," Nanoha softly interrupted the girl as she gently placed her hand on Hayate's shoulder, sporting a sad smile on her face. "Ever since I met Yuuno-kun and started on my path as a magical girl I've always been running forward without looking around me. I believed that if I allowed myself to slow down that eventually people would get hurt because I wasn't strong enough, just like back then."

A poignant silence filled the room as both Nanoha and Yuuno were lost in thought, reminded of Nanoha's first day off culminating in a gigantic three that went on a rampage through Uminari city. What was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon soon turned into a nightmare as they witnessed the sight of her hometown covered in the roots of the giant tree, induced by the effects of the rampaging jewel seed which Nanoha could have collected much sooner.

"I believed that as long as I trained long and hard enough, that as long as I ran forwards, eventually I would be strong enough to prevent anything like that from happening. It was really foolish of me. Even after I found all these great friends of mine I still believed that I should be able to carry the task of protecting everyone all by myself."

"Nanoha…" Fate watched as her dearest friend stared at the bottom of her drink; her usual smile gone from her face.

"That's why I have decided to become an instructor." Nanoha cheerfully states with a smile, any trace of her previous mood wiped from her face as she cheerfully smiles at the people in the room.

"Whaaaa!.."

"An instructor?" Yuuno repeated, his mind still reeling from the sudden mood whiplash. "Why an Instructor? I always pictured you with a more active role, like a commanding officer."

"The last few weeks I realized how many mistakes I've made while training myself," Nanoha admitted, " and who knows how many children like me might make the same mistakes as they aim for the skies. If I can share just a small part of my mistakes and experiences with them, then they will be able to build on the errors Hayate and I made. That way they can also reach the skies like we have, but on their own terms and with their own strengths. I believe that that is something I can do."

"Meanwhile, we do have a spot open on the Arthra for you, Yagami-san, " Chrono continued, turning the attention of everyone in the room back to himself. "Your results on last year's TSAB entrance exam show that you do have some talent in management, command, and tactical analysis. We could really use someone with such raw talent if you decide to stop being a magical cannon like Nanoha over there."

"Mou!" Nanoha moaned as she glared at the boy. "Don't tell me you actually started calling me like that on board the Arthra!"

"Of course not," Chrono replied with a poker face, which crumbled when a small smile slipped into his expression.

"Miss 'White Devil of the Bureau'."

"MOU!" Nanoha cried as she started pounding on the young officer with her fists, Hayate and the others laughing at the sight of the pouting girl.

* * *

><p>"How long do you think it will take her to contact us?" Her master spoke up, the boy pacing around the grounds in his knight's jacket as he continued to stare at his watch.<p>

"We can't be sure but Signum should report back in a few minutes." Shamal replied as the healer sat on the porch, placing several cartridges into her belt as she adjusted the garment that came with her new outfit.

Her master had finally been able to grant his knights an acceptable design for their garments: knight's clothing that would give them protection from the elements while in flight and could somewhat protect them from enemy attack received in battle.

Each of them was now outfitted with a modest skirt, enough to cover most of their legs while leaving enough room to allow them to move freely, except for Zafira who had been outfitted with a set of sturdy pants to cover his legs.

A shirt with longs sleeves had replaced the black piece of clothing that covered the top of their bodies and Shirou had finished the design off with a sturdy jacket, reinforced at the shoulders and the arms for each of them along with a utility belt to carry small materials like cartridge patterns.

The designs were rather basic, mostly been based on the images of the Belkan mages Shirou had seen in the memories of the book. They would not win any prizes in a designer's contest, but they were very practical and offered the protection and maneuverability which the knights needed.

He had colored them after their favorite colors when Vita had complained that the black materials made her look depressed, resulting in the iron knight now walking around in a red outfit as bright as her own hair while Shamal found herself garbed in a lighter tint of green. With Zafira's dark blue and Signum's purple outfits they made for a rather colorful group. Their new outfits weren't really intimidating, but perhaps that was what their master had aimed for in the first place?

Their master was the only one without a full set of knight's clothes, even though he taken the effort to at least conjure up a jacket like theirs. Rather than using prana to conjure up a full set of knight's clothing he preferred to simply reinforce his current attire while conjuring his black jacket over his regular clothing, a process that did not strain his core as much and allowed him to be more efficient with his small supply of mana coming from his linker core. It seemed Signum's recent jab about a hero knowing their own limits had not completely fallen on deaf ears.

"Red, Blue, Green, Purple and Black knight! Wolken-sentai are go!"

They all ignored Vita's remarks from that point on.

* * *

><p>Shirou continued to pace around restlessly as his thoughts drifted back to the topic at hand, namely Signum's absence. The missing knight had been vacant from the house the entire day, her disappearance explained to Taiga as 'running an errand for an acquaintance'.<p>

It hadn't been a total lie, as Shirou had tried to convince himself. She was performing a scouting mission for his sake, which counted somewhat as an errand for an acquaintance, right?

She had departed immediately after an early breakfast, vanishing before the day had really started. Signum had dematerialized into a burst of light after expending two cartridges, a process which took her almost a minute as she activated her transportation spell.

Shirou wondered if he had made her a big enough lunch. Signum had sported a rather strange grin on her face when he handed her the large bento box in a backpack, almost as if she didn't know if she should laugh or smile at him.

At least she was smiling more often these days.

There had been no trace of the spell after she had left, but even now after twelve hours since he had seen it he could effortlessly recall the spell from his memory. He had instantly recognizing the familiar triangular basis of the spell, but it had been the first time seeing the distinct patterns fine-tuning the mechanisms up close. Even so, he could already effortlessly recall the exact image from both his own and the tome's memory.

Shamal had been surprised at the fact that he could remember the patterns even though he couldn't understand them; to Shirou it felt almost the same as using his structural analysis on objects. Even though you couldn't always understand every part of the blueprint, you could still copy it.

His explanation had only confused her even more, so Shirou had simply stopped trying to explain it. It was probably something any decent magus could explain, but with his lack of training he couldn't even be certain if what he was doing was right.

Perhaps his memory was just really good with these kinds of things?

On the other hand, even now he still found it hard to believe that it was actually possible to travel between enormous distances in space. Shirou still couldn't wrap his mind around the concept of the dimensional sea.

Apparently the shortest distance between 2 points in space was not a straight line, but to take a shortcut trough another layer of existence by using enough prana and carefully calculated patterns to punch a hole through the fabric of the universe.

And his knight had dared to say that his magic was insane.

He had soon found out that his tome and the Wolkenritter were capable of casting the spell themselves. He had been relieved to hear that he did not have to cast the spell actively, with the book simply initiating the transport as Shirou simply rode along.

A small part of him was glad that he didn't have to do the casting itself, especially with the chance of getting out at the wrong point in space, or blowing up his yard; he still remembered how his experiments with his flight spell had gone.

"Are you sure she didn't get into trouble somehow?" Shirou once more addressed his blond knight.

"She probably is almost ready securing the perimeter on the uninhabited world." Shamal answered. "If she had run into problem she would have returned to us already, or she would have sent us a message. "

"We have no way of knowing how much the populations and forces on the dimensional worlds have moved" Zafira added. "We were content with laying low on this unadministrated world for now, thus we lack any accurate info on enemy movements."

"Please don't call it enemy movements," Shirou replied, his tone surprisingly cold and harsh as he voiced his disapproval of the guardian wolf's terminology. "You make it sound as if the entire universe is out to get us."

An uncomfortable silence followed the boy's exclamation before he continued, his voice now more calm and filled with his usual warmth. "I know that you have served other masters before, and that you have done things in their name that are unforgivable…"

Vita lowered her gaze to the ground as her master's statement. Her fragmented memories enough to remind her of what despicable acts she might have performed as...

"But that doesn't matter at all now! I am your master now and I've already told you that I would take care of you. If anyone still holds a grudge against you they will have to deal with me." Shirou stated as he crossed his arms.

"How relieved I feel to hear that from the boy who got his ass kicked by Taiga only this morning," Vita snarked, her words causing Shirou's shoulders to slump as he recalled the trashing the woman had given him.

For some reason his temperamental big sister saw his improvements in his fighting skills, evident in the fact that he was dodging her attacks, as another reason to up the ante yet again.

Shirou honestly hoped that she wasn't holding back at this point, because if she was then he might not survive an encounter with her at her full strength.

Fuyuki's Tiger truly was a voracious animal to be feared.

Shirou's silent moan of pain was enough to lift the dark mood that had been clouding his knights as they smiled at the muttering and stammering master as he recalled the incident, wincing at every imaginary blow.

A sudden surge of prana had them turn their head towards the center of the yard. A pink flash of light filled the grounds and Signum materialized in their midst, kneeling on one knee as she landed on solid earth. "I have secured the site and the boundary is set up", She spoke as she addressed her master, "You can initiate the dimensional transfer at any point."

"Welcome home Signum, and thank you," Shirou spoke with a smile as he held out his hand towards his knight, who accepted it with a smile of her own as she pulled herself up. His other hand grasped the chain around his neck, before the chain that held it up disappeared.

"Here, Shirou."

Shamal held out her hand to him, holding the four cartridges they needed to safely transport all five of them while using the tome.

Shirou took the four cylinders from the healer, the pendant in his hand glowing brightly as the light slipped between the cracks of his fingers. He opened his hand as the pendant transformed back into its true form. He held the tome by its back as he grabbed the cartridges with his other hand.

"Well, here we go then." Shirou nervously spoke up as he allowed the tome to open itself, resting on the palm of his hand while he placed the four cartridges on the open page, where they quickly dispersed into prana as the book drained them dry.

"ANFANG!"

Once more the familiar triangle shaped spell insignia appeared, as the book started to adjust the spell for the given destination.

A minute later the Emiya residence was deserted of life.

* * *

><p>Many people thought Yuuno Scrya was a person who spent every second of his time in the Infinite Library, while some even though that he had simply buried himself in one of the many forgotten corridors after being rejected by his childhood love after discovering that she 'batted for the other side.'<p>

The truth was a lot less dramatic. Yuuno did maintain a 53-hour workweek, but spent his free time at home and even took at least one day off every month for other occasions.

He did wonder how a refusal from Nanoha to have dinner with him on one day, the girl knee deep in paperwork and planning to spend her evening catching up, had resulted in such a miniature soap opera.

It might have something to do with the fact that a rather concerned Fate had been spotted dragging the workaholic back to her home after Nanoha had fallen asleep on her desk again.

None of that mattered right now as Yuuno found himself surrounded by silence, the archaeologist enjoying his two week paid vacation on the 5th planet of the Iteron system as he dug around in the dirt.

He had scheduled this trip moments after discovering several leads in the Library that indicated he might have missed a valuable cultural artifact on one of his former excavation sites.

Yuuno Scrya was not a person who left unfinished business alone for long, and thus he found himself placing said artifact inside a sealing container which he had brought along. Ever since the jewel seed incident he had made sure that nothing he dug up could go haywire on his watch, even if this object was nothing more than a simple relic.

By now the boy had come to the conclusion that he was most likely the only non-plantlike being in the area as he hadn't even caught the sound of insects buzzing to disturb the silence that enveloped the place. Plains of dust and grass stretched out around him till the horizon, an empty landscape that was completely flat apart from the mountain chains far north, barely detectable with the naked eye.

At least this wasn't as bad as the dig with the bloodsucking insects. Those leeches actually had teeth long enough to get through his clothes.

He shuddered at the memory.

Yuuno looked at the sky as he placed his hand on the box, activating the seal, as he took notice of a single white fluffy cloud lazily floating around…

Along with several colored dots, as a group of small red dots chased the larger black one around it.

"What is that... wha!"

Yuuno yelped as something red shot straight at his head. The boy raised a small shield purely on reflex, barely able to divert the incoming projectile as the red orb disintegrated against the green barrier. The boy jumped on his feet and conjured several more shields ass he spotted several more projectiles heading towards him.

No, not towards him, he realized, but towards the single back dot that was now making a beeline towards the ground as the projectiles chased him.

Whatever it was, it was heading directly towards him.

* * *

><p>It had Shirou over an hour to finally master the basic actions of taking off, acceleration in flight, and controlled turning. He now found himself overlooking the planet Signum had chosen as their training grounds, a desolate uninhabited world with nothing but barren ground for miles. The sight of this empty world had already been impressive for the boy who had only known Japan's densely populated life, but the sight of the completely empty world as seen from his position, floating hundreds of meters of the ground, had left him speechless.<p>

The world was huge, an almost endless plain stretching out under him towards the horizon, mountain chains hundreds of kilometers away reduced to molehills.

Shirou shivered as a sudden gust of wind passed by him, more out of reflex than because of the cold, his knight's jacket keeping most of the cold out.

"You'll get used the view sooner or later," Signum spoke up as she appeared next to him, snapping him back out of his own thoughts. "We finished the basics of flight as planned, but we still have about an hour before we need to return… "

Because while it was in the middle of the day on this world, it was already nighttime in Fuyuki, and Taiga would notice if he skipped a night of sleep after all.

"At best we have 45 minutes remaining before we must return," Signum continued. We could run over the basics one more time or…"

"How about target practice?" Vita spoke up as she entered the conversation, the other knights catching up behind her. "Shirou can be the target!"

"What?" Shirou deadpanned as the girl grinned at him.

"You can fly now," The girl continued, stating the obvious. "But you have no idea on how it feels to fly in a real battle right? You should at least learn how to dodge some practice rounds."

"That's… actually not a very bad idea," Zafira added. "Some hand-on experience in basic evasion might be a good idea before we continue with advanced flying maneuvers."

"And Shirou does learn things the fastest under pressure," Shamal reluctantly agreed. "But most of our spells are based on close combat and area control. The only one of us who actually use aerial ranged spells are Signum and Vita."

Shirou felt his mouth go dry as Vita smiled at him with what he was sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

"Schwalbefliegen without their steel cores should disperse on contact, and they will only leave bruises if his barrier fails. The same should work with my Sturmfalken." Signum stated, before nodding. "It seems like a decent exercise to end the day with, don't you agree Shirou?"

Shirou nodded hesitantly, as Vita raised her hand in the air , red orbs appearing in her vicinity.

_"Hammerform!"_

"Well then, you have a 5 second head start," Signum spoke as drew Laevatein, before connecting the hilt of the sword with the scabbard.

_"Bogenform!"_

"W-Wait!" Shirou stammered "You mean…"

"4"

"..four against one, that's…"

"3 "

"…not really fair, besides I can't…

"2"

"…even shoot back, how am I…"

"Surprise! Schwalbefliegen!"

Vita let out a cheer as she launched the first set of orbs at him with a swing of her hammer. Shirou tumbled around on his axis as he whipped his head back, the first set of orbs shooting trough the empty space where his chest had been only seconds ago.

He doubted that he could have dodged it if Vita hadn't called out her 'surprise attack' in the first place. It was probably the reason she had done so.

With a single stroke of his wings he sped up backwards, keeping his eyes on his knights as Signum raised her bows towards him, a small purple light building up before it shot straight at him.

It was so fast that it slammed into his chest before he could even dodge it, his barrier jacket holding as the force of the impact blew all the air out of his lungs as he tumbled backwards. It took him precious seconds to get himself upright before he spotted the second set of red orbs shooting at him.

"F-Fast!"

Shirou continued to fly around, desperately trying to dodge the attacks Vita send towards him as she followed in pursuit. He didn't even have time to think, to plan a flight path, before the next wave hit him.

Orbs started to burst apart as they hit his limbs, the boy unable to keep up with the rapid pace of the attacks.

A second purple streak flashed through the sky. This time Shirou was able to raise his arms in front of his chest to take the brunt of the impact, but even that wasn't enough to prevent him from making another backwards spin in the air.

"I'm going to end up more black and blue then my guardian wolf at this rate!" Shirou cried out, his smaller assailant laughing at his cry.

He needed to find cover. Staying up here would only make him a target, and so Shirou dropped himself towards the ground, hoping to find cover near the surface. He was able to dodge several of Vita's attacks as the passed him, racing towards the surface…

…where it slammed into something green and magical.

"A barrier!"

Shirou grimaced as he continued his descent towards the ground, which by now was illuminated with a green glow a several shields popped up, their caster standing defiant under the layers of protection as the blond adjusted his glasses.

"…..crap" Vita muttered as she and her fellow knight sped towards their master's side.

* * *

><p>Yuuno's eyes widened as the black dot came close enough for him to identify the figure as a mage. A boy clad in a black barrier jacket and flying around on black wings, a flight spell using a design that Yuuno had never seen in action before.<p>

What kind of person was attacking him on this desolate planet, and where had he come from?

Yuuno prepared several binding spells as his assailant closed the gap between them, as the stranger, who appeared to be a boy of his age, finally showed his face, his expression one of surprise and…. shame.

"Are you okay down there? I was sure that there would be nobody here so I didn't even think to check…. I'm so, so sorry about this!"

A small part of Yuuno wondered if he had somehow managed to run into another Takamachi Nanoha, the combination of the apologetic behavior and the display of high level magic triggering a feeling of déjà-vu in the archaeologist. He didn't really know how to reply as the boy bowed towards him with his hands clasped in front of him, the stranger still hovering as the black wings kept him adrift in the air. Yuuno spotted the other mages, most likely the boy's companions, floating somewhat behind him, their expressions unreadable as two of them held onto their devices.

The smallest mage caught his gaze, and quickly hid the hammer behind her back, a futile attempt as the head of the device was still visible from behind her shoulder as she tried to whistle innocently.

"It's okay, really", Yuuno answered, the spectacle of his unexpected guests enough to throw him somewhat off balance . "I was under the impression that no civilian had requested a transport to the surface of this planet in the last few weeks, so I'm just as surprised to see anyone here as you people. What brought you to this place anyway?"

"Well-" Shirou hesitated, as he tried to make sense of the situation. Here he was talking with another human from another planet on yet a different planet then the ones they both came from.

A human who apparently was spending his time digging into the grounds of an uninhabited planet.

"Training." Signum spoke up, positioning herself next to the redhead. "We were practicing basic evasion tactics while refraining from using real attacks, so we decided to use…"

"...underpowered spells" Yuuno finished, as he recalled the way the spell had instantly disintegrated against his shield. "Unguided underpowered spells to be precise."

"We said we were sorry..." Vita murmured as she turned her head sideways as if to study the fluffy cloud. It wasn't like she was avoiding the boy's gaze.

"Still, flight training in such a remote location?" Yuuno turned his attention back to the boy in front of him. "For a mage of our age to have access to that kind of spell… As far as I am aware it's forbidden for people to use flight spells without proper authorization or supervision on any administrated world. Why aren't you training at one of the TSAB's facilities?"

"Well—" Shirou slowly spoke, the boy realizing that conversation had lead him into a situation where he didn't even understand half the things the boy was talking about, from the fact that there was something called a TSAB facility to the fact that magi needed licenses to fly.

"Dad sure never mentioned anything about magi licenses…"The boy muttered to himself.

"Excuse me?"

"Eh!" Shirou went pale as he realized he had spoken out loud, the blond boy looking at him with a somewhat confused glare. "We actually live on one of the more densely populated unadministrated worlds so I can't practice the spell there without drawing unwanted attention." Shirou quickly spoke up as he tried to find a way to explain his situation to the boy. "So… we thought it might be a better idea to use this planet to practice flight. The spell is a precious family heirloom and the details of the spell are quite personal, so we prefer to train with it without any instructors to make sure it remains that way. It's my family's way of practicing magic."

This time Shirou was happy that he didn't have to lie to the boy. Kiritsugu did teach him to keep his magic hidden form the populace after all, and Shirou was not about to break that rule.

Yuuno's distrust for the boy's excuses faded away as he saw the serious look on the boy's face. For a few moments neither of them spoke, until Shirou nervously shook his shoulders, his flight spell reacting to compensate for the sudden movement. The motion of the black wings drew Yuuno's attention as the archeologist took a closer look at the black wings that were keeping the redhead in the sky.

"The structure of your flight spell does look intriguing from an outsider's point of view, " Yuuno confessed. "A six wing based flight spell is something I've only seen in Ancient Belkan lore so far. Most flight spells currently used only use two or four wings. " Yuuno spoke, mostly to himself, as he took a closer look at the structure. " It must be quite hard to control that kind of projection without a device. From which style of magic was it composed?"

"I'm really sorry, but all that is… a family secret" The redhead apologized, as he clasped his hands in front of him again. At that moment a beeping sound startled both of them before the red-haired boy realized it came from his pocket. He grabbed what Yuuno deducted to be some sort of timepiece, and in response to whatever was displayed the boy's expression dimmed a bit.

"It looks like my training is over for today. It seems that we'll have to catch our ride home," The blond woman spoke up as she appeared behind the redhead's back, placing her hands on the boy's shoulders. "I do hope we haven't inconvenienced you too much?"

"Don't worry about it", Yuuno replied. "It was nice meeting you-"

"Emiya Shirou," The boy introduced himself, as he reached his hand out towards the archaeologist.

"Yuuno Scrya," The blonde spoke with a smile, as the two shook hands.

* * *

><p>"You took a unnecessary risk back there," Zafira stated as he flew alongside his master towards their home camp on the planet, where they would return to Fuyuki. "Revealing yourself like that to a stranger."<p>

"We almost shot him," Shirou replied, "So we really owed him an apology, and didn't he turn out to a nice person in the end? Besides, the universe is huge right? How big is the chance that we will run into him again?"

"Small-" Shamal spoke up as she joined in on the conversation as the male knight remained silent.

"Let us hurry for now, we already lost enough time with this incident as it is," Signum interrupted as she continued to speed up, the others forcing themselves to follow her lead.

It was already far past midnight in Fuyuki after all.

* * *

><p>"A toast for Shirou-kun! Congratulations on making it into Homurahara High School with such excellent marks!" Taiga cheered as she started gulping down her drink without any restraint, a gesture repeated in a more composed matter by the other adults at the table. With Shirou enrolling in Fujimura Taiga's school of choosing, heavily influenced by the fact that she herself was a teacher there, he had finally approach the threshold of the days Taiga had describes as 'Sweet Sweet High School Life, Filled with Romance and Adventure!'<p>

Shirou had not even bothered to ask what she had meant with that statement, simply nodding with a smile as Taiga continued her drunken speech about youth, friendships and chances of a lifetime. But even his knights had agreed that there had been enough reason to celebrate Shirou's accomplishments. Their master had progressed greatly in the three years they had lived with him, the time he spent on both his regular homework and his 'extracurricular materials' had paid off in both his grades and his skill. Their off world training sessions had only sped up the process as the boy forced himself to his limits as he tried to master his limited set of skills.

Their small home camp now consisted of several additions: teapots, plates, a high quality copy of the Torashinai and a collection of other small objects which continued to last for days until something, or someone, actually broke them. The shinai had become Shirou's default weapon in combat, although he could only use it to block some of the spells aimed at him. Not a single shred of prana was wasted as most projections would find themselves being absorbed by the tome along with whatever amount of od he could still convert into prana without overtaxing himself. He diligently continued to fill page after page, the total amount of pages over 300 by now as his efforts continued as the book gained a filled page every week. It would take him around seven more years to reach the 666 pages they needed but the book would one day be completed, it's power capable of saving thousands, if not billions of lives.

The tome was something that could help him turn his dream into reality; that was something he truly believed. It had already given him a family that understood his dreams, and had granted him with knowledge that helped him to move forward on his path. Even now he still didn't know if Kiritsugu had actually left it behind for him or if the tome had found him itself, but for Shirou it didn't matter ether way.

"But High school is a lot of work Shirou-kun." Taiga suddenly shifted into a more serious expression. "So make sure that you give it all effort it needs for you to continue to perform like this. No more talking about part-time jobs okay?"

Shirou nodded as his thoughts wandered into a different direction as his face shifted into a somewhat pained expression. When he had told Taiga that he was planning on getting a part-time job, a way to earn money so he could start repaying Raiga for letting him and his makeshift family live in this house, his gesture had been shot down immediately. Both Taiga and Raiga had forbidden him from looking for a job, saying that if he had time for such a thing he could just as well spend it on making sure he kept up his grades, to excel in his schoolwork to ensure that he turned out to be a successful person in life.

He had expected such a speech from Taiga, who was herself a teacher, but he had been honestly surprised that Raiga had felt the same, stating that he'd rather have Shirou forget about any debt as long as he managed to make sure that he would never have to rely on anyone in the end. The biggest cause of his surprise had been that even his knights had joined the Fujimura's side.

Eventually Zafira had convinced him that there was no reason to start working for money. Zafira had his job at a local club, Shamal had started working at The Copenhagen Bar and Signum was doing odd jobs for Raiga most of the time.

His message was clear: Emiya Shirou should become an ordinary high school student whose goal was to achieve results that would allow him to pursue any career he wanted. Emiya Shirou should act like a regular human his age, becoming an exemplary student to hide his real identity as the master of the tome and his real nature as a magus.

A part of him didn't care about all of that. He simply couldn't ignore others whenever they could use his help, even if all he could do was repair something small or clean the classroom after the other students had left. It just felt wrong to prioritize himself over others. After all, he…

"That al great, but this celebration is missing something…" Vita's complaint tore him from his thoughts as everyone turned their attention to the smallest member at the table.

"….Where's the food?" Vita spoke as she hungrily eyed the bags filled with groceries which had been placed in the kitchen, the result of Vita and Taiga's preparations for the 'victory dinner'.

Shirou smiled as he stood up, his thoughts turning to the meal he was supposed to prepare.

At least he could always make Vita and the others happy with his cooking. That counted as helping others as well, right?

* * *

><p>"You know, I was planning on making bento boxes for everyone from the remainders of this meal…" Shirou slowly spoke up as he carried another set of empty plates back into the kitchen where Zafira and Taiga were handling the cleanup, the tall man and the smaller woman working side by side as they make quick work of the stack of dishes, pots and pans. "I didn't expect you to eat every last bit of it."<p>

"You should know better by now…" Vita replied as she finished cleaning the table, before walking back to the kitchen to dispose of the rag she had used to dry the furniture. "...Taiga eats everything she can get her hands on."

"Vita-chan ate just as much!" The accused tiger replied from the kitchen as she and Zafira finished their own work before they rejoined the others at the table. The smaller redhead ignored the accusation as she diverted her attention to the tea Shirou had now placed on the table.

"….I'm still growing," the girl offered as an excuse, to which Shamal and Signum replied by rolling their eyes as the guardian wolf let out a chuckle. Taiga didn't reply, instead turning her attention to the other redhead sitting at the table.

"Shirou-kun, you didn't join any clubs during middle school right?" Taiga asks with what was probably supposed to be an innocent expression; it wasn't very convincing, as everyone at the table was able to see where the conversation was going. "Are you sure you won't join the Kyudo Club with Fuji-nee? We can really use some new hands with all the third year students leaving…"

"Fuji-nee, you already asked me this three times today," Shirou replied with a sigh. "And I told you this three times already; It'd be unfair for me to reject the other clubs without taking a look. With everyone trying to recruit members at the start of the school year I should give everything a chance. Besides, you used to pester me to join the Kendo club before they rejected your application to become the club's advisor."

"Ugh, does Shirou-kun hate his Fuji-nee that much?" The woman pouted as she stared at the boy with big teary eyes, forcing him to turn his head away to avoid the dreadful puppy-eyes the woman was giving him.

"I do have a wish to visit the Kyudo club if possible. Do you mind if I come and observe the archers at the club when they start recruiting?"

Taiga turned to Signum with a look of surprise before it turned into a grin as she diverted her attention from Shirou to Signum. "Oh, I didn't know that Signum-chan has an interest in archery as well. Do you have some experience with a bow yourself?"

"Only in the basics, although I am not completely unskilled," Signum replies calmly. "I have been reading some of the books you left behind here on the philosophy behind the basics of kyudo and I find myself intrigued with the mindset of the Japanese form of archery. I would be grateful if I were allowed to witness it in action."

"What's all this talking about thinking and mindsets when firing an arrow?" Vita asked as she took a sip of tea, nodding in approval before continuing. "You grab a stick, pull the string and hit the target, what's so hard about that?" She continued as she smirked at her ponytailed 'sister'.

A fist planted on top of Vita's head courtesy of said sister, quickly wiped the smirk from her face as Vita rubbed the growing bump on her head.

"Vita," Shirou sighed at the glare Vita was giving Signum as he turned towards the girl. " Kyudo is a combination of both a martial art and a spiritual way of life. The archer does not aim for a target, but aims to shoot the 'self' while firing the arrow."

"Wha…? "The girl replied as she looked at him with a dumfounded expression, rubbing her head as she stares at him. The gesture caused him to smile in response before he continues, trying to explain it in a way she can understand.

"In other words," Shirou continued, "it's like making yourself transparent and becoming one with the world itself. You don't just shoot an arrow but you force your mind and body to go through the stages of shooting. You try to become one with the target, to release the arrow that has become with yourself so you can release the self that is shot towards the target which knows that it will be hit, unifying the past and the future."

By now Vita's was wearing such a desperate expression that Shirou paused as he tried to suppress the urge to laugh at the girl. "To put it simply you can see each stage as a mental exercise which leads to the person's self being discarded. It's based on the idea that hitting the target itself is just a bonus in kyudo. Kyudo is more like a path to obtain the mentality needed to become nothing then a fighting technique. It's like meditation, only the archers achieve their state of balance with the bow and arrow.".

"Why don't you just shoot the damn target?" Vita complains as she rubs her head. "Can't you just practice shooting until you keep on hitting instead of all this wacky mental stuff?"

"Sure you can, "Taiga replies with a smile. "Most of us do just that. The eight stages are just a method of training for us, and we are able to hit the target because of our technique. But a true kyudo archer will hit the target, no matter how bad they are."

"No matter how bad... You people are insane. I'm done listening to you," Vita muttered as she planted her head on top of the table with a 'thud'.

"That's very interesting but… why does Shirou know all of this?" Shamal asks as she absentmindedly rubbed the moaning Vita on her head.

"Because a certain teacher has been forcing me to read through her club's teaching material in her diabolical plot to have me join the Kyudo Club" Shirou deadpanned. " And now the innocent Signum has fallen into her clutches."

Taiga seemed to take delight in Shirou's explanation as she beamed at the boy, before turning her attention back to Signum. "You are welcome to join us during the recruitment days Signum-chan, but I'm counting on you to bring Shirou-kun with you to the dojo!"

Shirou sighed as Signum simply nodded at the woman, who now started laughing like a madman, realizing that he no longer possesses any means of escaping her clutches.

* * *

><p>High school was exhausting, Shirou concluded as he took in the chaos of the freshman trying to navigate the corridors filled with the senior students as they imposed themselves on their unsuspecting victims. The new meat was bombarded with flyers and offers from students representing every club in school, each club desperately trying to get some fresh meat before another club took them away. Shirou could only watch as several persons dressed in the signature kendo practice clothing made their way towards him.<p>

Apparently the kendo club's captain had caught ear of a rumor that a certain Emiya Shirou was able to raise a shinai in front of the Tiger of Fuyuki without getting turned into one big bruise. A rumor most likely spawned by said tiger's inability to refrain from boasting about her 'little brother's' growth.

Thus Shirou was now facing some very enthusiastic members from the kendo club, who were all but dragging him away toward their dojo as the captain tried to get him to sign up.

"It would be a shame to let all that talent go to waste! I bet Fujimura sensei would be proud to see you walking in her footsteps like this!"

"But I .."

"Surely you could just try it for a few weeks, I bet someone as talented as you will feel right at home!"

"Talented? But I'm….."

"And from what I've heard from sensei you'd do great on the regional championships after some decent practice. Wouldn't you like to compete at such a level?"

"That sounds really great, but like I…"

"You're really popular, aren't you Emiya-kun?"

Shirou turned around to to see Matou Shinji looking at him. They boy was sporting his signature smile as the boy took a closer look at the people surrounding Shirou, with the captain of the team almost a head taller than both of them. "So Emiya, how are you going to talk yourself out of this one?"

"Shinji, don't put it that way. like I said…"

"Pardon the intrusion, is Emiya Shirou around here?"

The volume of the voice was barely above normal but it somehow carried a strong sense of authority. The commotion in the hallway came to a halt as the stranger made her way through the sea of people, her presence enough for the student to make way for her.

The woman now known as Signum Ritter tended to have that effect on people, especially considering that the tall foreign woman was a rather intimidating sight compared to the average Japanese high school student.

Her eyes roamed over the crowd of silenced students until she found a familiar red mop hidden from sight by several older boys. With her target found she made her way over to the small group as they realized she was heading towards them.

"Who's that?" a girl whispered to her friends. "A teacher-assistant?"

"Someone's sister perhaps?" Another girl replied.

"She asked for Emiya Shirou right? Don't tell me she's his girlfriend?" A third squealed.

"Don't be stupid, she's way older than him… right?"

"Signum?" Shirou calls out to the woman as he spots her over the shoulder of the captain, who moves out of the way as purple haired woman gently pushes him aside. "Why are you here?"

"Taiga told me to 'make sure Shirou doesn't get abducted before he can make it to the archery dojo'.. or something similar." Signum replies with a small smirk, the kendo members taking another step back as she looks around. "Do you have any unfinished business with your fellow students here?"

The kendo members quickly shook their head the crowd started to make noise once again.

"Shirou! You didn't tell me you were waiting for someone to pick you up." Shinji wormed himself between the redhead and the woman as he gave her his trademark smile. " I don't believe we have met before? My name is-"

"Matou Shinji. We've met once. 'Signum calmly replied, her smile fading away along with Shinji's smirk as she starts pulling Shirou along with her.

"Signum lives with her sister and her friends in the same house as I do, remember?" Shirou added, as he took Shinji's expression for one of confusion as he walked along with his impatient knight.

"So, Archery it is then?" Shinji murmured before catching up with Shirou once more, setting himself in the same pace as his friend and the housemate. "Well, Archery sounds interesting. Why don't I join you two for today, then?. It might be fun to try out."

Signum refrained from speaking as the company of three headed towards the archery dojo.

* * *

><p>"This is boring,"<p>

Matou Shinji let out another complaint as he once again went through the motions of drawing an imaginary arrow while holding onto the rubber bow. Not a moment later a senior walked up to him to correct his posture as the older teen forced Shinji into the correct stance with his hands.

"Well, you can't just start shooting arrows without proper form," Shirou replied as he turned his attention form his own from to his friend. "You need to practice the fundamentals first." Shirou turned his attention back to his bow as he and Signum pulled back the bowstring of a real bow.

"You're doing better than most of the first years anyways," he continued as he let the imaginary arrow flow, the bowstring slicing through the air as he released the string.

"That's easy for you two to say. You two are already practicing with a real bow while the rest of us are still stuck with these rubber ones." Shirou held up his bow as he waved it as Shirou. " Why the difference in treatment?"

"It's because Signum already has experience with normal bows so she picks up the technique much faster than beginners do." Shirou calmly replied as he pulled back the bowstring once more.

"And what about you then?" Shinji pressed on as he watchers Shirou release the bowstring once more.

"It's because Emiya-kun already possessed the correct mindset, unlike someone here who keeps complaining. " The senior member spoke up, having returned to assist Shinji again before catching onto the conversation. After slightly correcting Shinji's pose he took another look at Shirou.

"Are you really sure you never practiced before? I've never seen anyone pick up the technique for kyudo at this kind of speed." He asked as he stared at Shirou. "Don't tell me sensei has been smuggling you inside the dojo at night."

"No no no," Shirou hastily replied as he waved his free hand in front of his face. "I've read the books that Fujimura sensei left at my home, nothing more. It's just rather similar to some meditation exercises I sometimes practice…"

The senior member simply stared at the boy, before shaking his head. "Well, I wish I could learn a sport by just reading a book like that. You must be a natural. No wonder that our Tiger insisted on getting you in the club."

"~Oh, did I just hear you say the forbidden word?" A smiling Fujimura Taiga sang, suddenly appearing next to the unfortunate boy who froze as the teacher placed her hand on his shoulder.

"F-Fujimura-sensei, I didn't know you were here" The boy stammered as the grip on his shoulder grew in strength while the teacher's face started showing more teeth then necessary for a pleasant smile.

"DON'T CALL ME TIGER!" the woman roared, the scream causing several freshmen to jump in fright.

Shirou could only look away in shame as his legal guardian chased the senior trough the dojo like a wild animal.

* * *

><p>To Signum's surprise and disappointment, Matou Shinji had not left the club after the first day. While they boy's attitude rubbed her the wrong way she couldn't deny that he did possess the skills to back up most of his boasts. At least her master did not push her to interact with him any beyond the bare minimum necessary.<p>

She observed the freshmen moving through the fundamentals with a little more grace than before, several of them having joined Shirou and herself in actually practicing the moves with a real bow after they managed to convince the captain of their skill.

A wave from one of the senior members caught her attention as the girl beckoned her to step on the shooting range. Signum accepted the quiver with a short nod before she positioned herself as she guided herself through the steps she had only recently engraved in her memory.

It was a little odd to align her arrow without having Laevatein to correct her hold, but that shouldn't matter at this range.

The arrow flew.

She had to suppress a scowl as she watched the arrow veer off from her target, barely hitting the outer edge as the trajectory drifted off to the right.

She took a deep breath as she calmed herself. With her control reestablished she nocked another arrow, taking aim once more.

The slightest hint of a smile graced her face as the arrow struck the target , the impact much closer to the center compared to her previous shot.

* * *

><p>The sight of the Signum calmly shooting arrow after arrow at the target in a precise and controlled matter quickly drew the attention from freshman and the regulars, who paused their own training as they watched the display the woman was giving. If Signum was aware of her onlookers then she didn't show it, her movements methodical and almost emotionless whether she was hitting the bull's-eye or whether she barely managed to hit her target altogether.<p>

The sight of the tall foreigner clad in the archery club's uniform made the scene even more serene, as if this all had been set in scene for a photo shoot. Shirou's ears caught the whispers as the students asked each other about Taiga's newly hired assistant, those who had witnessed his 'rescue' from the kendo club staring at him as if that would spontaneously give them the answers.

It wasn't until she was done with her volley that Signum finally noticed the attention she gathered. The moment she stepped of the range they swarmed towards her, the deeply impressed freshmen expressing their admiration toward the taller woman who honestly seemed confused by the attention she had drawn to herself.

Especially since Shirou knew that she was less than impressed by her results, the lack of her accustomed bow-device clearly showing as he couldn't remember a single time where she had missed him in their training sessions.

"Well, that wasn't too bad Signum," Shirou cheered towards his knight, who frowned at the small jab as the others failed to read the sarcasm in Shirou's statement.

Emiya Shirou was supposed to be a nice guy after all.

"Emiya-kun, Fujimura Sensei told me you're clear to start shooting! You can come over here!" The senior member yelled at him as she held up the quiver, once again filled with arrows, as she beckoned him to the range.

"Well, I just set myself up for that one, didn't I?" Shirou muttered as he walked towards the range, Signum simply smiling at him as he noticed the tiniest of smirks on her face.

Well, as long as he'd hit the targets she'd have no reason to complain right?

* * *

><p>Signum watched as her master released the bowstring, the arrow planting itself slightly above the center of the target. Shirou barely noticed the approval of the senior as he continued to move through the form, grabbing a second arrow in a single motion.<p>

By the time the fifth arrow was placed in the center the people next to him had stopped shooting altogether.

When the quiver ran out of arrows one of the second years handed him his own. The boy accepted it with a small nod, before returning to the basic position as he moved through the steps with a precision a beginner should not be capable of.

It was almost machine like, as if he had completely repressed himself until only the movements remained. She couldn't even read any accomplishment on his face whenever he hit the target.

There was no sign of joy or boredom, and that attitude unnerved even her.

* * *

><p>Shirou wasn't really surprised by how familiar the sport of archery felt to him. Kyudo was just another way to train one's mind after all, similar to the meditation he used as a preparation for his own magecraft. For Shirou, making oneself nothing was something he was forced to do daily, and a skill that he had practiced for years.<p>

Right now the person called Emiya Shirou simply didn't exist. Only the bow, the arrow and the target remained as he suppressed himself to nothingness.

Another shot burrowed itself into the target, the arrow placed slightly below the last three shots, just as he had imagined it. He just had to choose the desired path the arrow had to follow out of the countless possibilities.

As long as he could meet the conditions he simply couldn't miss a stationary target. To choose the paths leading to the outcome that would give him the result he wanted was as normal as breathing.

His latest shot hit the target, this arrow even further from the center as it burrowed itself straight under his previous shot.

His arm was burning, the strain of continuously pulling the bowstring on top of his regular training making itself known. He relaxed as he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as he turned towards the back of the dojo.

Everyone was staring at him.

* * *

><p>"Shiiiiiirou!"<p>

Signum watched as the silence was suddenly broken with Taiga's war cry as she made her way to her master, the girl carrying a mad grin on her face as she pulled the boy into an elbow lock. " You've been holding out on nee-san!"

The declaration unfroze the other students, as the chatter grew even louder than after her own shooting session. The captain had made his way over to the boy as he placed a rather strong slap on his back. Signum simply stood by as the elder student started talking about 'competitions' and 'secret ace of our dojo'; Fujimura Taiga was already talking about how much funding they could earn from winning that championship. By now Shirou was sporting a nervous look as they continued to invade his private space.

For Signum to see that her master surpassed her in a form of combat, even one she didn't practice as much as her swordplay, filled her with a mixture of pride and shame. It seemed that she had been too lax in her own training after all, focusing too much on her sword techniques while letting the art of the bow fade away.

It was a good thing she had found a place to remedy this weakness. But for now it seemed like her master was in danger, as he was currently unable to escape from his oppressors.

"You'll join the competition right Shirou? Do it for you big sister!"

She would have to come to her master's aid after all….

…Eventually.

* * *

><p>"Ah, it's him alright."<p>

Tohsaka Rin watched from the roof of the school as the boy walked home, accompanied by a teacher and another female companion. The heir of Tohsaka was no amateur, pinpointing the presence of a magus the moment he walked into the same school as her.

Ayako, one of her closer friends from middle school, had also joined the archery club. Thus Tohsaka Rin had heard word of the so-called 'natural shooter'.

Enough to be able to make her assessment of the unknown magus.

To call him a magus was perhaps a bit of an overstatement, as barely any power could be detected leaking from his circuits, the normal signature mark of any magus who actively uses his circuits. Most likely he was just a person born with a minor innate talent, lucky enough to possess a few circuits that had managed to activate themselves by sheer chance or during a crisis of some sorts, and which were now slumbering inside of him, mostly dormant but still giving him the feel of a magus.

The only real talent she could determine from him besides his skill at archery was probably his stubbornness.

The image of the boy jumping the bar briefly played itself in front of her eyes before she suppressed it mercilessly.

His presence was of no concern to her, Rin decided. The boy probably didn't even know anything of the art of Thaumaturgy so there was no reason for her to interfere with him.

With her mind made up Rin started to make her way home, reminding herself that she was still behind on her practice schedule in her own style of Thaumaturgy. She had planned to test her owl familiars, made out of amethyst, which she had crafted last week.

Said owls still remained motionless in her workshop.

She'd have to fix the inner workings tonight, perhaps even try them out. Maybe even have them scout the city for practice.

* * *

><p>Gil Graham had been spending his free afternoon in his office combing through some personal mail before he noticed a message coming in on his console. He stiffened as he read the report, mentally summoning his feline familiars as he discarded his other work, pulling up several encrypted data files before accessing the folder labeled FUYUKI.<p>

"Father?"

The man looked up as his daughters appeared in the doorway, motioning for them to close the door behind them as he beckoned them closer.

"I finally managed to find something to pinpoint our missing book." He softly spoke as he pulled up a map of unadministrated planet 97, centered on Japan. "I was able to narrow down its location to the Japanese city of Fuyuki two years ago, but my local investigator ran into some trouble when he tried to dig deeper."

"Trouble?" Aria repeated the phrase with a slight tilt of her head.

"The local organized crime, a Yakuza family named Fujimura, made it quite clear that the investigator's presence in Fuyuki was no longer appreciated. Two more ran into the same problem whenever they tried to find out whether someone had moved into town recently or if there had been sightings of a certain old book."

"Those idiots don't even realize that they are endangering their own lives," Lotte moaned, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand as she walked around the room.

"I was unable to pinpoint the location of the book, but there's finally been a change in the master's behavior lately," Graham continued. "For whatever reason the tome has started to use dimensional transfer spells to travel off planet, and while the signature is masked it is still familiar enough for us to detect up close."

"So we got them right? We can go find the master now?" Lotte placed her hands on the table as she beamed at her master.

"Not yet," he interrupted her. " We still can't pin down the master's base of operation until we actually track his reappearance as he exits the dimensional sea, which means well have to be in Fuyuki to track it down. And since the case on the book is closed…"

"There is no way we can send enforcers to Fuyuki in the first place." Aria finished, a scowl on her face speaking volumes of her feelings on the matter.

"Well, I always wanted to take a vacation to Japan, and Uminari is close to Fuyuki right?" Liese spoke up with a smile. "Perhaps we can ask Chrono's friends for some hotspots for our trip to their home world."

"Just…. Be careful alright," their master pleaded, his expression that of a tired old man as he looked at them. "Don't get yourself into any unnecessary danger, and please don't get hurt."

"Don't worry father, we'll be fine," Aria promised, as she and her sister smiled at their master.

* * *

><p>It was already far past midnight as Zafira walked home, the knight in a good mood after receiving a well-deserved bonus for a week of hard work as a bouncer at one of Fuyuki's more popular clubs. It was money well earned, and along with Shamal's salary it ensured that his comrades and their master would have nothing to complain about for a while.<p>

His smile slipped from his face when he finally noticed the small disturbance of prana floating at the edge of his senses, most likely a small spell which was currently positioned a short distance from him.

His mood grew worse as he realized that it was moving in his direction.

He cursed himself for not noticing it earlier, having no way to know how long this thing had been tracking him after he had left the club. He couldn't go back to the Emiya residence like this, not without possibly leading an unknown enemy to their front door.

Looks like he'd be taking a long stroll tonight.

* * *

><p>Rin let out a yawn as her familiar made its way through the air of Fuyuki. She had finally managed to connect to the construct properly and was currently hovering above the crowd of people, her familiar shrouded in the chaos of the lights and the noise as it made its way.<p>

She saw a man jump into an alley and ordered her familiar to track him just for practice's sake.

Then something smashed into the owl, shattering the construct and her connection.

* * *

><p>Zafira let out a string of curses as crushed the owl in his palm while sticking onto the alley's wall, before pulling himself up onto the roof. It had been some remote controlled contraption, a design unknown to him, and most certainly not a method used by the TSAB. He suspected that it had been a construct based on a magic style of this world.<p>

This meant that he had most likely just crushed the toy of another magus, perhaps even one that was living in this city as well.

Shirou wasn't going to like this. The only other magus they knew of was the owner of the lands, responsible for taking care of anything magical in the area of Fuyuki and the one which Shirou had tried to hide from in case that magus decided that he wasn't pleased with an amateur hanging around in his territory. Or even worse, someone who would take far too much an interest in the Wolkenritter and the Book of Darkness.

And he had just crushed said magus's construct with his bare hands by jumping from the ground onto the wall of a mid-sized building.

Zafira cursed as he threw himself up towards the roof. A moment later he was gone, as a blue blur jumped from roof to roof before suddenly disappearing in a flash.

* * *

><p>"Why you…."<p>

Tohsaka Rin was furious by the time the other two owls converged on the location where the first had gone missing, only to find nothing there.

Something had detected her familiar and had disposed of it without showing himself, luring her construct into the alley to strike at it from the shadows.

Someone had been foolish enough to seek a fight with the Tohsaka family on their own grounds.

There was little elegance left in the heir of Tohsaka as she turned towards her pile of gemstones, hands trembling with frustration and sheer fury as she picked out several more pieces of amethyst. She would need to replace the familiar she lost this night, and she would do so right now, even if it would take an all-nighter this time. And once she was done she was going to track this stranger down, and show him why it was considered impolite to disregard the second owner of the lands of Fuyuki like this.

That fake priest would never let her live it down if he found out that she had been shown up like this.

* * *

><p>"What's with this place?" Lotte shuddered as she took in the sight of the church of Fuyuki, the place where they had picked up the strange barrier which covered the hill watching over the city.<p>

"I don't know," Aria admitted, "but it's secluded and protected by a barrier, making it a good hiding place for a fugitive like the owner of the Tome." The fact that she couldn't scry inside the church was enough to feed the nagging sense of danger at the back of her head. "I don't feel like entering this place at all."

"We should just take a real quick look and get back to searching the rest of the city." Lotte spoke up, the girl continuously looking over her shoulder as her instinct kept screaming that something was watching her. "…just to make sure so we don't have to come back her at all."

"Ah, what's this? I thought we had some pests scurrying around, but it looks like we only have two scaredy-cats instead."

Both twins moved as one to face the newcomer, a blonde male strolling towards them with a bored look on his face with his back to the entrance of the church. "Damn that fake priest for being out of town, leaving me to take care of trash like this."

"You should really watch your language there mister, you might get hurt if you keep that up," Lotte glared back at the man who looked at her with a look of surprise.

"Ahahahaha!" The stranger burst out in laughter. "Oh this is truly precious! A woman, a mere _fur ball_ is threatening _me_. How quaint of you!"

In response to his taunt Lotte let out a hiss before reappearing behind the man in a flash, her leg aimed at his head as she delivered a kick which would knock out a lesser man with ease…

"Wha!" Lotte cried out as a searing pain surged through her leg where his steel grip held onto her leg. He had caught the limb with his bare hand, moving even faster than her own attack. "Why you, let me go!"

"Oh, I was thinking of letting you go at first," He spoke, his expression shifting from amusement to annoyed, " but assaulting your king like that…."

Lotte's head slammed into the ground with a sickening thud as he swung her around, using her leg as a grip.

"Hoop bind!" Aria cried out, blue bindings forming around the man as she rushed towards her fallen sister. "Lotte get up, can you…."

"You must be joking, trying to hold _me_ with these restraints."

Aria looked up only for his foot to slam against the back of her head. The force behind the kick forced her onto the ground next to her sister, unable to move as the pain of the impact wrecked her body.

"Who...what are you?" Aria muttered as she tried to look up at her assailant. In response he looked down at her with a bored expression, no longer interested in the two creatures that were unable to move. The air behind him rippled before cracking upon, as two swords floated out of the gate, aimed for their heads.

"Mongrels like you," he replied, "aren't even worthy of knowing my name…."

Steel flashed before their eyes, and then the twins knew nothing more.

* * *

><p>On Mid-Childa an old man awoke from his disturbing dreams as he felt something precious slip away from him, a connection lost forever as he was left behind alone once more.<p>

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343 empty pages remaining-

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AN: I finally finished rewriting my old material, pushing this fic onto its new route. The introduction of the knight clothing has been moved forwards in the F/NS timeline along with a more serious attempt in making Shirou train the Belkan side of his skills.

And finally: curiosity killed the cats. This event will have dire consequences for both the TSAB and our protagonists.


	8. Innocent days I

Fate/Night Sky  
>Innocent days (I)<p>

"Zafira is running late." Vita complained, her head resting on top of the table as the girl barely paid any attention to the TV. Another yawn clearly indicated that her usual source of amusement was failing, leaving the girl bored out of her mind. "What could he be doing this late instead of being here so he can amuse me?"

"As usual, you devotion for your fellow knight's well-being warms my heart." Signum replied indifferently, the knight not even bothering to divert her attention from her book while taking another sip from her teacup. "Perhaps it's more crowded than usual at the club again and he's asked to do some overtime."

She shot her master a grateful look as Shirou refilled her cup with another helping of tea, before sitting down himself.

"Maybe someone was in need of help while he was passing through?" Shirou suggested as he poured himself a cup. Vita simply shook her head as she stared at her master with a look of disbelief, her expression shouting 'are you serious?'

"What?" He defended his explanation. "There's still some crime during the nights in Fuyuki, and it's not like the police is everywhere…."

"I could totally take care of this town!" Vita interrupted him as she pointed at herself. "I can be its dark protector! The- "

"They'll recognize you in less than a week, and then we'll all be in trouble" Shamal pointed out, causing the smaller redhead to deflate as she slumped over the table once more.

"…."

"Vita," Her master offered her a sincere smile as he patted her on the head. "I know that it's hard to sit by and wait while people can be saved but-"

"I'm still bored." The girl droned, ignoring her master as she stared at the TV, causing Shirou's smile to twitch as he retrieved his hand from her head.

"Maybe Zafira is paying a midnight visit to a certain yakuza princess?" Shamal suddenly spoke up. A cold shiver ran down Vita's spine as Shamal's face shifted from a light blush towards something which Vita could only classify as 'Shamal's naughty face'.

"Huh, why would he go visit Fuji-nee at this hour? She's probably already heading for her bed," Shirou replied, his face showing that he clearly had no clue of the healer's line of thought.

Vita lasted a whole 3 seconds before she busted out in gales of laughter, soon followed by her fellow knights as their master started to pout in response. "What?" The boy complained; his knights ignored his disapproval.

"C-Come on Shamal," Signum spoke as she tried to contain her mirth. "Zafira would not engage in such a relationship with-," She paused for a moment, and a hint of doubt slipped into her voice. "I mean, something like that could happen, but that would be…"

"Ah, Zafira you dog!" Vita chimed in as she crudely tried to imitate Taiga's voice, a feat she was failing horribly at. "Our love is a forbidden one and yet I cannot forget the way you touch me, my delicious wild beast!"

"S-Stop it." Shamal pleaded, gasping for air as her shoulders shook with mirth. "Zafira might drop in any second now and…."

At that moment a blue Belkan insignia appeared above the table, followed by a familiar side to side teleport spell. A blue blur materialized in the room, the spell rematerializing a tense looking Zafira in mid-air. He levitated above the table for a moment before gravity took hold on him once more, pulling him down as the man crashed onto the table on all fours. The impact launched everyone's tea all over the table, the wolf man slipping on the fluid as he tried to remain standing.

Vita's mind was now devoid of boredom. His posture when appearing suggested that he had been running at high speed before he had resorted to teleporting himself in midair. Ether he had been chasing something, or he had been on the run…

"Another Magus is on our trail."

Vita didn't feel like laughing anymore. 

* * *

><p>Zafira had been hesitant about resorting to teleporting himself directly inside the house, but the thought that his persuader might catch his trail before he could find a safe spot to disappear had been enough to override his hesitation. He was grateful that nobody had been occupying the table when he reappeared, although the spilled tea that was now soaking into his clothing was less than comfortable. Zafira ignored the wetness of his clothes as he sought his master, right now there were bigger things to worry about.<p>

"Another Magus is on our trail." He reported to a pale faced Shirou. Zafira watched the expressions of his fellows, hints of surprise and disbelief appearing on their faces.

"W-What?" Vita croaked out, her voice lacking her usual strength as she broke the silence. "How-? When! What are you saying?" She stammered as she walked towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders as she demanded answers from the man.

At this range Zafira could smell the panic emanating from his fellow knight, making him feel even more unsettled. It was only when Shirou placed his hand on the smaller girl's shoulder that she calmed down, sitting down as Shirou softly pushed her to the ground. The seated girl was somewhat composed, but the slight twitch of her fist revealed the turmoil she was hiding.

Zafira understood. After all, this could very well be the end of their everyday lives in this town; the four years of peace and warmth could very well end tonight.

"A Magus?" Zafira was drawn back to reality as the loaded word rolling off his master's tongue. "Not a Mage, but a _Magus." _Shirou was stressing the terminology, looking at him for confirmation of his statement.

Zafira nodded his head at his master's statement. "I discovered that I was being followed by a contraption of a sort I've never seen, completely different from any magic system I can remember. It wasn't a linked spell of some sorts but was composed completely of solid matter, some crystalline material. Such a method of material manipulation is barely possible with spell-linking styles, and far from being practical in combat with magic users."

"You said it was following you, could you tell if it was part of a searching tactic to find us?" Signum spoke up, focusing on the first part of his explanation. Zafira replayed the event in his mind, before shaking his head as he faced the burning general.

"It was not actively tracking me until I separated myself from the crowd," Zafira elaborated. "It's as if it was simply doing a routine sweep of the area, or looking for something else, before I somehow caught its attention. The very act of trying to evade it might have drawn its attention in the first place."

A bitter taste welled up in Zafira's mouth as he realized his rash actions might have escalated the situation beyond their control. If he had-

"Did you notice the course it was heading before it diverted its flight-path to follow you? Did you notice from which direction it appeared?" Signum interrupted Zafira's thoughts as she forced his attention back towards her. Zafira once more replayed the events in his mind.

"I'll need a map."

Shamal stood up as she walked into the hallway. Within moments she returned with a map of the city, unfolding it as she placed it on the table, which Shirou had cleaned the moment Zafira had voiced his request.

"I think it was heading for downtown…," Zafira paused as he took a good look at the open map, "…and I first picked up its presence from around here."

Vita scooted closer to the table, trying to get a better look at the map. Zafira's finger rested near the river separating the town, a small distance upstream from the bridge connecting the two halves of Fuyuki. It was far away from the hotel district, located further downstream near the river delta, but the hotel district remained a possible location for the constructs to have started off, especially if their opponent had just arrived in town.

The bigger problem was that across the river was a much more likely spot, namely…

"Miyamachou, the western district to be precise." Shirou spoke up. "There are several old western-styled mansions owned by families who have lived here for several generations, and thus they most likely to house the second owner Fuyuki."

"This is just great," Vita spoke between clenched teeth, grasping Eisen's pendant form in her hand as she clenched her other fist. "Not only is there someone snooping around but they are pretty much camping in our own backyard!"

"To be honest here, in their point of view we are the one camping in their territory…" Shirou weakly pointed out.

"Of course, the possibility exists that the magus that was acting tonight was not affiliated with the second owner, but was actually a third party in this area," Signum added. "This means that there might be another force in play besides the second owner".

"-Another magus besides our 'second owner'?" Shamal shifted her attention from the map towards her comrade. "What makes you think that there might be more than two magi around here?"

Signum hesitated for a moment, before she continued. "It is something Fujimura Raiga once told me. He warned me about three families who his family preferred to avoid: the Tohsaka, the Makiri and Einzbern. Until now I have paid little heed to his warning, believing it to be superstition at most, but if those three families have been around Fuyuki for so long…"

"Raiga seems to have known that Kiritsugu wasn't completely normal. There must have been other incidents before he came to this town," Zafira added. "And if the Fujimura actively avoided these families…"

"But I've never heard of anyone called Einzbern," Shirou spoke his knights, "or Makiri, or Tohsa..."

Shirou stopped mid sentence, his jaw hanging open as he froze mid-sentence. He remained painfully silent for several seconds, until Vita prodded her master's motionless form.

" Shirou, are you awa-"

"Tohsaka Rin!" Shirou suddenly cried out, causing Vita to fall over as the boy clasped his fist into his open palm.

"Who?" Vita asked as she crawled back up from the floor, her usual vigor returned as Graf Eisen's hammer form materialized. Vita grasped her hammer's study grip as she directed her full attention onto her master. "Who is Tohsaka Rin! A mysterious visitor? A tyrant of some sorts? A mysterious old lady who is accused of conducting dark rituals?"

"…What the hell have you been watching lately," Zafira muttered.

"That doesn't matter!" Vita replied without delay, turning back to her master as she prodded him for answers. "So, what is she Shirou!" She returned her attention back to her master, eager to find the identity of her target. "Some demonic, soul sucking vampire queen?"

"A school-idol," Shirou replied, dispelling Vita's imaginary opponent with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What kind of enemy is that!" Vita cried out in frustration as she sank to her knees. "That's…. what's that supposed to mean anyway! What kind of enemy is that?" 

* * *

><p>Inside the basement of an old western mansion a certain twin tail sneezed, causing the crystalline sculpture that she was forging in her hands to expand violently before crumbling into pieces.<p>

Tohsaka Rin's language was far from composed and elegant as the smoke slowly cleared up. 

* * *

><p>"She's a friend of Mitsuzuri-san," Shirou explained after Vita had calmed down a bit, each of his knights now holding a new cup of tea. Shirou took another sip of his own cup before continuing. "I hear that they get along very well. I think it has something to do about them being rivals when it comes to grades and other challenges. Apparently Tohsaka Rin is one of the few people Ayako hasn't been able to completely defeat in a challenge."<p>

"Ayako," Zafira spoke up as he voiced the unfamiliar name. "Another schoolmate of yours?"

"Mitsuzuri Ayako," Signum elaborated before Shirou could give his answer. "She's a very competitive member of the Kyudo Club. She seeks to challenge herself by competing against others in as many subjects as she can handle. She has talent, but she seems to lack some grace."

"She's a bit of a tomboy and she keeps challenging Signum and me to competitions whenever we train at the dojo," Shirou added. "She's a good person though, and we get along well."

"Ah," The smallest knight replied with a blank expression before she shook her head. "Wait a min…..This has nothing with this!" She cried out. "Do we go after this Toh-baka girl or not?"

"Toh...baka?"

"It's Tohsaka." Shirou corrected the girl. "And what exactly do you mean with going after her?"

"Well, go after her, find her home base and defeat her! We'll just storm her house and find out why she's spying on us the easy way!" Vita stated as she slapped herself on the chest with a smile.

It took Shirou several seconds to realize that Vita had not been joking, and the girl had already managed to get to the door leading into the hallway before he hastily called her back. "Vita! We can't just storm her house because we suspect she might be a magus. Bashing in a girl's door like that would be bad- Bashing in a girl's door is bad to begin with!"

For a moment there was a standoff between the knight and her master before Shirou let out a sigh as Vita slumped back to the table, not even bothering to return Graf Eisen to his compact form.

"Perhaps one of us could inspect the girl's house while she is at school, to look for suspicious materials or other evidence of her involvement?" Signum's suggestion was a hesitant one, her distaste for such a course of action plain readable on her face. "If the girl possesses the same raw materials as the construct was made of…"

"No. We are not sneaking around like thieves."Shirou shook his head, refusing to consider Signum's proposal. "Besides, the girl is the same age as me, going to school and is the top student on top of that. She's probably spending all her free hours on her schoolwork and she still finds time to hang around with girls like Ayako. It just doesn't look like the typical lifestyle magus to me."

"That… sounds sensible" Shamal nodded. Shirou smiled, bolstered by the woman's acknowledgement. "And even if she was a magus, it's not likely that she also has a library of knowledge, powerful guardians and ancient artifacts inside her house just like we do. I mean: Tohsaka Rin, school idol by day, mysterious magus at night?"

"It's still possible…." Vita disagreed.

"But, it's unlikely" Zafira added.

"But if Tohsaka Rin is not a magus, we are still not a bit closer to finding out who was behind the events of this evening." Signum pointed out.

"We have one more thing to work with," Zafira spoke up as he opened his palm. In the crooks of his hands there were several small shards embedded between his fingers, the remaining pieces of the owl that had been crushed in the palm of his hand. Shamal picked out a single fragment before Klarwind appeared in her hand as her necklace returned to its normal state. For a moment the shard in her hand glowed with an unnatural greenish glow before the light dimmed.

"The magus was using refined amethyst for making his construct." Shamal spoke up as she reattached her necklace. "Little impurities, so most likely forged from high grade material."

"The use of such valuable materials for such a simple purpose suggests that the magus is most likely wealthy enough to spend that much material on a simple search spell" Signum spoke up. "This means that he can most likely procure the required materials at ease without questions being asked. We can assume that our opponent is rich in both wealth and influence."

"A rich asshole? That's sounds better then a schoolgirl," Vita noted with satisfaction. Even Shirou was unable to suppress the feeling of relief that Signum's statement had given him. Such a person wouldn't be attending a school like Homubara High school to begin with.

"For now we can only attempt to come up with counter measures against his surveillance." Signum concluded. "We can assume that the magi will start looking for Zafira after tonight. The fact that we haven't run into one of these construct during daytime might indicate that he prefers to wait until dark before starting his patrols."

"Flying diamond birds might catch some unwanted attention," Vita pointed out.

"So they will only be used at night." Shirou nodded in agreement. "Even an amateur magus would try to keep his work safe from people who don't need to know about it."

"We can't allow ourselves to be seen after dark by any of these constructs." Signum noted. "We may be safe from unwanted attention during the day, but we need to find a way to hide our identities whenever we encounter a patrol at night."

"Our Knight's clothing might suffice, but our current attire reveals our faces," Shamal muttered. "We might have to alter the designs to mask our presence"

"That would require at least a helmet of some sorts, and perhaps something less practical but more… distinguishable, a disguise that will draw attention away from your face and your voice." Shirou pointed out. "It's not like I can just fit you with full body armor to the point that anyone seeing you will think you're a bunch of vengeful oni's."

Shirou's hesitant smile slipped away as Vita scooted closer to him, staring at him with eyes that had somehow grown double their size as they sparkled at him. It was almost like a child looking at her parent after being promised the greatest birthday present ever, only for them to keep it out of reach.

"There should be another way to mask your presence…" He hesitantly continued, his attention drawn by the terrifying sight that had now clung itself onto his arm. Vita's lips were trembling as she pouted at him, the sight making a cold shiver run down his spine.

"I….I'll go see if I can dig up something…" He gave in as the girl smiled at him with the brightest grin she had sported in weeks. 

* * *

><p>It was a beautiful morning as Mitsuzuri Ayako arrived at school, kicking off her shoes before slipping into her indoor shoes. Walking into the school, she soon spotted a familiar red coat accompanied by an equally familiar set of twin tails. Ayako smiled as she took a short sprint towards the other girl's side.<p>

"Good morning Tohsaka!" Ayako greeted her friend with her usual gusto, placing a playful slap on the back of Homubara Highschool's idol. Her actions were answered with a deep growl as Tohsaka Rin stared back at her with red-tinted eyes, her face clearly showing that the sandman had not visited her last night.

"Forgot to sleep again Rin? If you need the entire night to study so you can keep up with me I'll start to feel bad. I'll hold back a little so you can get some more rest if you want. "

"-How thoughtful of you," Rin replied with a blank expression. Placing the palm of her hand on her forehead, she moved it down her face as if it wiping away the fatigue. Suddenly the visage of the sleep-deprived Rin vanished, replaced with the smiling face of the Schools idol. Ayako smile grew a bit thinner as Rin smiled at her while holding her hand to her mouth, as if the composed girl was to burst out in a fit of graceful laughter any moment.

"Perhaps I should take it a little easier with my studies," Rin's hand now moved under her chin as the girl took on a thinking pose. "It would be a good handicap. Perhaps then we can compete as equals?"

Tohsaka Rin was currently giving her one of the vilest smirks Ayako had ever seen.

Right now she was probably sending back a just as intimidating grin as well.

"Oh, that's a lot of confidence you got there. Shall we put that self-esteem it to the test?"

"I'd love to stay and chat, but-"

"Good morning Mitsuzuri-san! Tohsaka-san!"

Both girls paused as their attention was drawn onto the third person walking up towards them. Ayako blinked as her other 'rival' raising his hand in a friendly greeting.

"Mitsuzuri-san, Taiga was looking for you for some reason," Shirou continued. "She asked me to tell you if you could go and meet her before homeroom starts."

"Ah, sure Emiya-kun!" Ayako replied as she watched Shirou walk away towards the classrooms, before she tore her eyes from him as she turned her attention back to face Tohsaka Rin-

- Who had disappeared, her backside vanishing around another corner of the hallway.

"How rude" Ayako muttered, before her frown turned from annoyance to one of confusion.

"Her classroom is next to ours. Why is she walking the other way?" 

* * *

><p>Neither of the Admirals spoke as the young adolescent and the aging man sat at the table, both caught up in their own thoughts. Eventually Chrono looked to his side, spotting a photo of the elderly man and his two familiars; the twin familiars who Graham had treasured as if they were his own daughters.<p>

The Lieze twins, the diabolical women who had put him through hell with their training sessions to the point where the young admiral had mastered the basics in such a manner that he was capable of escaping a binding spell while fending off another attacker in close combat. The two of them had formed an unbeatable team, and even in the role of instructors they were still a force to be reckoned with.

And now they were gone.

Chrono's mind could barely wrap itself around that fact while Graham told him everything the official report had stated: The two familiars had taken a few weeks off from duty; visiting several cities on UAW 97 before disappearing. The last person to witness them was a convenience store owner who had seen them buy some food before they had left the town of Fuyuki…

Only, said eye witness had seen the twins the day after Graham has lost his connection to the two, making it impossible for the two to have been able to move at all. Yet for some reason the eyewitness had been very persistent in his recollection, and there was no reason for him to lie…

Clearly the man truly believed what he had seen, yet that was impossible…

"-Someone is trying to cover something up…" Chrono muttered as his thoughts led him to the same conclusion every time. "Someone manipulated the shopkeeper with an illusion to create an alibi of some sort, to make us believe that the twins left the city."

"- It is nice to hear that I am not the only one with such thoughts." Gil Graman replied with a soft smile, before his saddened expression returned. "But either way, the TSAB has no leads, nor any authority to dig deeper into this case. There is no sign of combat, nor any trace of any crime committed by a person from one of our administrated worlds. All the Administration has is the disappearance of two familiars and the statement of their master that the connection has been severed. And since there hasn't been an accident in which they have been involved we can also run out mundane accidents."

"I don't believe that any non-mage could ever best the two of them. Something on that planet is responsible for their death yet we sit here with our hands tied. I just can't accept that!"

Chrono was so caught up within his own thought that he only noticed that Gil had moved as the man opened a drawer underneath his drawer. After rummaging through the drawer he picked something up before returning to the table. Chrono's eyes widened as the old man old man placed the object on the table in front of him. Chrono recognized it as a storage device, the construct currently in its standby form as it took on the appearance of a white card, adorned with a blue jewel in the center.

"It's time for you to go, Admiral Harlaown. It's too bad that I don't have anything to show you." The elderly man spoke as his eyes stared into Chrono's. The young admiral simply nodded as he slipped the storage device into his pocket.

"Thank you for seeing me at this time."

"Give your father my regards." Gil slowly spoke as Chrono walked to the door before pausing. A single awkward moment transpired between the two before Chrono continued on his way, but now tightly gripping his hands around the card in his pocket. 

* * *

><p><em>"~~~UAAAAAH!~~~~~~~"<em>

Vita could be seen lazing in front of the TV, occupying the living room as the rest of the Emiya residence was devoid of life. It was in the middle of the day after all, and with everyone sans her at school or work there wasn't much to do for the girl who was supposed to be sickly and fast to tire…..

And it was driving Vita mad as usual.

Thus Vita watched as a second-rate horror movie played itself on the TV, as undead spirits crawled towards the heroine, who managed to stay one step ahead of her assailants-

-until a ghastly armored hand grasped her from behind. The camera turned around to reveal an undead warrior, garbed in the traditional armor of the samurai. Its eyes were red bits, leaking blood as it gazed at her-

"That's….. That's it!" Vita cried out as a burst of inspiration hit her.

The redhead zipped from her spot at the table as she dived into the corner, quickly putting on the recorder before looking for something to tape the movie on.

Because Shirou was going to see this, and then... 

* * *

><p>Chrono locked the door behind him as he turned on the light of his office, taking the card out of his pocked before placing it next to his computer. Soon his terminal connected with the dormant device before it spat out a password request.<p>

_"Give your father my regards."_

"Clyde Harlaown" Chrono muttered softly, loud enough for the device to recognize his input. With a single bleep the device acknowledged his command as it unlocked the data storage for Chrono's eyes. Soon the monitor was filled with images, maps of UAW 97, a detailed schematic of the town of Fuyuki, results of investigations into its population and….

Chrono's expression grew darker as the familiar image of the Book of Darkness appeared, along with the guardian knights who accompanied it. The image was followed by several maps, each showing the signature of the book before the location was narrowed down to the by now familiar city of Fuyuki.

Chrono did not leave his office until after midnight. 

* * *

><p>Tamaki let out a chuckle as he slipped into the alley next to one of Fuyuki's well visited nightclubs. With a practiced hand he deposited the wallet he had just acquired, after flipping all the credit cards and the cash from it, into a trashcan before he buried the money alongside his earlier spoils in the pocket on the inside of his jacket. With s smirk he padded the well-sized bulge in his jacket before closing it up, hiding it from view as he started walking.<p>

"Thank you for your patronage" He murmured as he walked through the alley, confident that the shadows would keep him hidden from sight.

_"~~~~~Oooh~~~~~"_

The sound startled him from his thoughts as the wail sent a shiver down his spine. The man turned around to see who was behind him; only for him to be greeted by the entrance from the busy street he had just escaped. With a sigh he turned himself around so he could get back to his business.

A gloved hand picked him up as a spirit of metal and blood hauled him up by his jacket, slamming him against the wall. Said feat was made more impressive by the fact that the spirit barely reached his shoulders.

Two glowing pits emerged from the shadows covering its face, staring at him with bleeding eyes.

Tamaki screamed as it punched a hole in the wall next to his head with its free hand, before the scent of urine filled the alleyway as the warm liquid flowed down his pants.

_"Ewwww," _the ghost muttered at the smell of his fear before slamming its palm against his neck, causing Tamaki's world to go black. 

* * *

><p>A few minutes later the nearby street was filled with cries and shouts as an unconscious man was flung out of the alley, along with half a dozen credit cards and a wad of cash. As the people stared at the sight they failed to spot the red blur speeding off along the rooftops. <p>

* * *

><p>Tohsaka Rin steered her newly crafted familiars away from the crowded street after seeing the cause of the commotion. Suddenly she spotted a red blur moving over the rooftops, jumping from one building to another with amazing grace for something clad in full body armor. With a single thought her familiars went after the red blur, completely ignoring the streets. <p>

* * *

><p>Zafira watched from the shadows as he followed Vita's ridiculous stunt with his eyes, following her movements as she drew the attention of their observer until they had left his sight. He stepped out of the shadows as he walked towards the bridge, feeling safe enough to head home.<p>

Vita would probably play hide and seek until the morning anyway. 

* * *

><p>Emiya Shirou was used to waking up with the sight of Vita sleeping in his room, the decision having become more of a habit than an actual safety measure to the girl.<p>

Lately she didn't even bother to look as if she had been watching over him, the girl lying unconscious next to him, sporting a savage grin as she remained oblivious to his presence. He rubbed the sand out of his eyes as he recalled why the girl was so tired every morning. The fact that he had crafted her a new barrier jacket was to blame; a plan hatched by the insane girl after showing him that lame horror video over and over again, forcing him to create a second mode for her knight's armor to aid in her "brilliant distraction plan!"

The mysterious magus who has been scouting the city in the last few weeks had taken the bait. Zafira had gotten free reign in making his way home undetected with Vita's nightly outings creating distractions all over town. By making Vita unrecognizable to any regular human Shirou had given her the ability to move freely through the night, without endangering her daytime identity. After all, one did not easily suspect the sweet little Vita Ritter, sickly little Vita with a temper but yet so cute and cuddly, to be the bloodthirsty spirit that was haunting crooks and criminals in downtown Fuyuki.

And boy did she haunt them. He almost regretted ever giving in to her request.

Vita's plan was working flawlessly but Shirou wished that Vita was a little bit less enthusiastic about beating up lowlife criminals, no matter how cooped up she was during the day.

"~~hehehe, I'll haunt you~~" the girl murmured as she buried herself deeper into her blanket with a grin.

"If you keep sleeping like that you'll miss breakfast." Shirou shook the girl's shoulder to no avail as he tried to wake his roommate from her pleasant dreams.

"~~-haunt you-~~"

"Yes, yes."

Shirou smiled at Vita's babbling as he left his room, leaving the sleeping girl behind. 

* * *

><p>Shirou desperately tried to keep his distance as Zafira once more stepped inside his defenses, leaving him open to the taller man's attacks. In just a single blink Zafira's fist had already moved towards his face at a speed that forced the boy to sink to his knees while moving his head to the side to prevent his nose from being broken. Even with his makeshift knight's armor, composed from reinforced clothing and his black barrier jacket covering the top half of his body, taking a blow from Zafira would still knock him out cold.<p>

Shamal already had enough experience in mending his injuries from their practices, and the blonde had made it quite clear that patching him up wasn't one of her favorite hobbies. She has berated the two males on taking their morning practices too far after the last time his arm had gotten dislocated, and the healer had almost literally blown up when she realized that the men had been ignoring her lecture.

"A good reaction, but you just placed yourself in a corner!" Zafira barked, drawing Shirou's attention back to their sparring session. Shirou's eyes widened in surprise as he finally spotted the knee flying towards him. His attempt to dodge his opponent's fist had placed himself directly in the path of the incoming kick that followed up Zafira's initial attack, and Shirou could only raise his reinforced arms in defense.

A dry smack resounded trough the dojo as Shirou impacted onto the wall before slumping down onto the ground. He awkwardly rubbed his head as he replayed the scene in his head, trying to find out how he got cornered in the first place, not noticing the second attack until the very end.

"The punch was a feint to begin with; you just wanted me to duck." Shirou muttered at Zafira, who smiled in response.

"Control of the battlefield is a huge factor. If you can decide where your enemy will strike or where he will retreat towards, you can pin him down by manipulating him into moving where you want him to move..."

"And with that your combat exercises for this morning are over." Signum spoke up as she entered the dojo, receiving a short nod from her fellow knight before picking up her master form the ground. "We should prepare breakfast before morning practice starts."

"Archery again?" Zafira spoke with a hint of confusion. "You have been visiting every training session so far; I thought Taiga said that the morning practice wasn't mandatory?"

"I believe that Shirou would benefit from having a full mastery of Kyudo. Therefore I have decided to make the morning sessions mandatory for the two of us." Signum quickly replied as she helped her master to his feet.

"But… Shirou never misses right? His biggest weakness in Kyudo is that he doesn't have endurance to keep on shooting in one session." Zafira continued as he dropped to the ground, before pushing himself up with one arm as he kept an eye on his fellow knight.

"Yes, I fear that in our decision to train him in close quarter defense and swordsmanship we have neglected certain aspects of his fitness…"

"But that doesn't require him to train on the range." Zafira grunted as he ran himself through another set of pushups, before pausing as he took another look at Signum. "In fact, the one who needs time on the range to improve her accuracy is…."

"Taiga will be here soon. Shirou, please start preparing breakfast for us!"

Zafira watched as Signum dragged a confused Shirou out of the dojo, their master shooting the wolfman a look clearly conveying that he was as confused about the situation as Zafira was.

"Well, that's something you don't see everyday…." The wolfman spoke with a chuckle, before continuing his exercises.

With any luck he could grab a quick bath after finishing before breakfast. 

* * *

><p>*twack*<p>

The sound of the arrow hitting the target barely registered in Shirou's mind as he was already moving to place his next shot, his target already a pincushion after several dozen volleys. Even so, the burning feeling in his fingertips was already disturbing his mindset and the slight tremble in his arms were a clear sign that he'd have to take a break soon.

"You know, you really are like an arrow spitting machine when you are in your zone Emiya-kun!" Ayako spoke up; her grin showing that it had not been a spiteful comment. "It makes me wonder how your face would look like if you ever missed."

Shirou stared at the girl for a moment, before he drew one last arrow, sliding trough the different steps at a high pace before shooting…

"… no way, you missed! How did you…" Ayako's grin disappeared as she looked at the boy, before a small frown appeared. "…That was intentionally just now, wasn't it…"

"…yes." Shirou admitted, not feeling any reason to hide it from the girl. He had just preformed a regular shot, but instead of choosing to hit the target he had chosen for the arrow to 'miss'.

"That's no good Shirou! If you miss on purpose you'll make us all feel bad." The girl complained, before her frown disappeared. "It does make me wonder Shirou… do you even like Kyudo? I mean, you don't look like you have a goal in archery that you work towards too. You don't really seem interested in the competitions even though you could do well in them, and when you are shooting it just looks like you aren't even there…" Ayako paused, as she realized that Shirou had now diverted all of his attention towards her, staring at her with an expression that was rather hard for her to read.

"I'm not really sure…" Shirou eventually confessed. "I think I like coming here because Taiga needs to be fed during the break. Also, Signum likes the archery club as well. She even shows her emotions more clearly when she's on the range. It's nice to see her act so honest with herself."

"I don't get it," Ayako spoke as she glanced at the taller woman. "Doesn't Signum smile most of the time, always acting graceful and composed? What do you mean she's acting more honestly?"

"Well, if you know what to look for you'd get it" Shirou smiled as he watched his knight walk onto the range, clad in the clubs garments as she nocked the first arrow onto her bow. A tiny smile slipped into her expression as the arrow hit the target dead center, her mirth almost invisible if not for the small twitch of her lips and the widening of her eyes.

To Shirou it was as if she had pumped her fist in the air with a shout.

"Anyway," Ayako continued. "Your big sister… I know you aren't related but you two keep giving a siblings vibe." She hastily explained as Shirou shot her a confused look. "Anyway, Signum is rather popular with the club members here lately. She seems to have a talent for organizing stuff and ordering people around so I can guess why Taiga wanted her here. The number of our classmates that joined after she started training here has increased as well, which is a bit of a problem or so I heard."

"Isn't it good for the Kyudo Club to be popular?"

"Well, as long as they actually stick around for the archery instead of the guys just wanting to get a closer look at your sister all dressed up, or trying to get a look at her undressing." Ayako smirked, delighted to see the normally smiling Shirou scowl at her statement. "What's this? Is the little brother going to have to defend his sister's honor of something?"

"W-what? No… I mean, Signum can take care of herself and…"

"Besides," Ayako's grin had now grown to a size that was reminding Shirou of a Cheshire cat from that western picture book, "It's not just the boys that you should keep an eye on…"

Shirou followed her gaze. Signum had just retrieved her arrows from her target and was walking off the range, only to be surrounded by three of the female freshman the moment she walked into their range.

"- I don't get it..." Shirou spoke as he took in the sight of the girls offering the perplexed swordwoman a towel and their drinks while giggling, causing Ayako to burst out in laughter at his confused expression.

"Let's just say that our cool and talented Signum-Oneesama is also getting popular around some of the female students, Shirou-kun."

Ayako wished that she had a camera with her as Shirou's face whipped back and forth at dangerous speeds, split between staring at her and looking at the girls surrounding his guardian. 

* * *

><p>"I see that your depraved nature has reached a new low Kirei." Gilgamesh spoke as he entered the basement of the church. The priest was standing inside a simple spell circle, drawn with lead paint and chalk.<p>

The priest was not alone. Gilgamesh caught a glimpse of the two feline corpses that Kirei had retrieved, except that the dead animals were now once more moving around, their movements slow and sluggish.

"I didn't know you were a cat person Kirei. If I had known I would have bought you a few living ones on my last trip. I just assumed that you were more likely to choke or drown them."

"Drowning an innocent defenseless kitten, now where would the fun be in that?" Kirei smiled. "This little experiment here was not in the pursuit of pleasure, king of heroes."

"Oh, tell me then."

"Your tale spoke of these former familiars possessing humanoid forms and thoughts. Yet after reviving their bodies and making them my own, nothing of those abilities remains. All that is left are two nondescript felines, lacking any thaumaturgical abilities like those you mentioned before.

"Are you disappointed Kirei, perhaps even angry?" Gilgamesh jested as the priest shot him a disappointed look.

"I am… somewhat confused. I wonder what kind of mage would make such a unique breed of familiars in the first place, only for it to die with such ease…."

"The problem you are facing is that you assume that their master was a magus." Gilgamesh spoke as he walked into one of the adjacent rooms, his personal stock of mundane alcohol receiving more attention of the king than his fellow man. "Their method, the so called 'linking of prana' isn't something a magus user of this world would possess after all."

If Kotominei was surprised by the king's sudden explanation, he did not show it. Instead he waved his hand in a quick motion, resulting in the two felines crumbling to the ground as puppets whose strings were cut.

"Not from this world. Are you telling me that their master wasn't human?" Kirei let out a chuckle before continuing. "What kind of creature would sink to such mundane methods if they could traverse between planets!"

"Ah, their master was definitely human though, just not from this world." Gilgamesh corrected the priest. "You assumed that this world is the only place where human life can be found in this universe so easily. Didn't your wizard marshal prove that there is more than one world filled with your kind?"

Kotomine Kirei stared at his accomplice as if he had gone mad. "Then, are you telling me that someone with control of the kaleidoscope has appeared? Are you telling me that a master of the second has arrived besides the wizard marshal?"

"Of course not!" Gilgamesh replied offhandedly. "The humans who possessed that power died over six thousand years ago, after foolishly trying to expand their dominion from their dimension into ours." Gilgamesh's answer to the priest's outrage was voiced as if he was correcting a child.

"They were destroyed? Then… then what killed them? What could have made a master of a true magic, a civilization that toyed with dimensions, disappear as easily as you - " Kirei paused mid-track, before turning towards the king, Gilgamesh sporting a smile as Kirei's expression revealed that he had already realized the truth.

"You are correct Kirei. They dared to demand my lands, my treasures, my people and my throne. Such impudence was to be punished, a task suited for the sword of the king."

"Then, the tale that cemented Ea's power as an anti-world noble phantasm…"

"…Was the total destruction of a civilization in one night. Their home world in the heart of their realm was shown the truth, and all that beheld the truth was destroyed. It seems some rats did survive on our side of the gate, but they have fallen much if these two was all they could send my way…"

The two corpses on the ground twitched, Kirei's lack of attention over the prana flowing into them causing their muscles to convulse.

"Eventually more will come." Kirei spoke as he walked up the stairs, his work in the basement done for tonight. "I have covered almost every trace of these two in this town, but when the fifth Heaven's Feel starts any observing party will eventually be drawn towards it."

"So, what will you do then Kirei? Will you stop them?"

"Of course not! If they wish to see the grail fulfilled and they possess the means and the right to do so, then let them! I am the impartial judge of the next Heaven's feel after all."

"Hmm, only as long as you continue to amuse me. Do not forget that, Kotominei Kirei…"

As the king of heroes followed the priest upstairs, the light in the basement dimmed as the open door started to close. As the door was closed the light vanished, leaving only two motionless corpses on the cold stone floor.

Lotte twitched. 

* * *

><p>With a flash of light three persons materialized in the base camp. Their home away from home was carefully hidden by the cliffs surrounding their encampment on the uninhabited planet. They were greeted by the familiar sight of the covered water pit, the dozens of misformed teapots and other result of Shirou's training attempt at his projections, and the imitation of Fujimura Taiga's signature shinai.<p>

Signum had once noted that from all of the projections, the shinai was the only one to last over three months, though the blade had finally started to fade away.

"Trace on."

Her attention was diverted to her master as he kneeled on the ground, holding his hands in front of him as if he was holding something up. Form the corners of her eyes she could see the shimmering of the air as prana filled the space between his hands, until.

"Projection complete."

Suddenly Shirou was holding up a Mato, a cylindrical wooden frame with a paper face attached to it, dividing the circle into three black rings with a white center.

"It's a target" Vita spoke up, to which Shirou nodded as he placed it on the ground.

"I thought it might be nice to see how far Signum can actually shoot outside of the range. And this way I don't have to borrow one of the targets."

"How are you capable of making such a decent replica…" Shamal asked, her eyes wandering to the other projections, "…compared to the less then successful teapots still adorning our camp."

"Well…" Shirou hesitated, before handing the target to Shamal. "I'll just say that it looks like a target and stick to that…"

Shamal lifted the object in her hands, before she realized that what was supposed to be a paper sheet on top of the wood was actually just some sort of coloration of the wood. Heck, the target wasn't even made of high quality wood.

"One shot of an arrow from Laevatein's bogenform will make this fall apart," Shamal said as she handed the target to Signum, who weighed the object in her hand.

"Don't worry," Shirou assured her as he placed yet another copy on the ground. "We have spares." 

* * *

><p>A purple flash shot trough the sky as the projectile slammed into the target, taking it and the surrounding ground with it as it detonated in a blast of fire.<p>

"That's a hit, so that makes Signum's score four out of seven." Vita spoke up.

"The targets are only thirty centimeters wide…. And you placed them two kilometers away." Signum slowly spoke as she turned towards the redhead.

"That was your fault; you never told me there was a limit to your flawless archery skills." Vita replied as she stuck out her tongue in a mock gesture. "Besides, Shirou doesn't even have a device to help him aim; at least like this you can win this round."

"I never asked for your help!"

"I love you too big sister!"

Shirou sighed as the two knights started bickering, Vita's talent at riling up Signum once more taking effect as the normally composed knight directed her ire at the smaller redhead.

Even worse, Signum was right. Right now he couldn't even see the targets. Shirou was at a loss. In practice he could overcome such distance by speeding himself up until he was in range, but with this challenge he wasn't supposed to move. His only skill so far was the ability to project a copy of his regular bow and arrows and the fact that he could reinforce his arms and the bow to give him a greater reach.

But all of that was useless if he couldn't see the target. It wasn't like he could increase his sight…

…right?

What if he just tried to reinforce his eyes with a tiny amount, would that help?

"Trace on."

Power flowed into his eyes, which began to sting as the unnatural energy stimulated the nerves and the tissue. To his amazement Shirou noticed that the objects on the horizon were slowly becoming more detailed… and for the first time he spotted a tiny black and white speck in the distance.

More power flowed into his eyes, and he felt tears stream down his face as the target became clearer by the second. He raised his bow as he aimed at the target, ignoring the voices of his knights as he allowed himself to fade to nothingness.

He couldn't reach the target. Even so, he unleashed the shot. The arrow flew through the sky, only to fall down to the ground several hundred meters in front of the mark, the closest the boy could have placed the arrow to the target. The full power of his reinforced arms and the reinforced bow were only enough to send the arrow just halfway towards the target.

His arrow hadn't been good enough.

He once more projected the projectile; only this time he forced himself to make it sleeker and tougher. He would simply have to make it stronger and faster than any normal arrow was supposed to be.

If reinforcing himself could give him strength beyond that of a human, and reinforcing his eyes could grant him better vision then there wasn't any reason for his projection of an arrow not to be better than a regular arrow.

The new projectile was nocked onto the bow and Shirou took aim once more.

He knew he could hit the target now.

The arrow flew, impacting the target above the center, just as Shirou had seen it before releasing the string. With a smile he turned to his knights, who were still completely occupied by Signum and Vita's little play.

"I hit it." Shirou smiled, only for him to pause as his knights turned pale as Shamal's hands fled to her mouth in horror.

"Oh god, Shirou…" Shamal croaked out. "Your eyes!"

Shirou suddenly noticed that the tears that had been leaking out of his eyes were rather reddish. And why was the light going so dim?

And as he closed his circuits, the pain in his eyes remained.

He couldn't see anything at this point.

"…help?" he squeaked as he suddenly realized that there was only darkness surrounding him. 

* * *

><p>It had been two days since Shirou's experiment with reinforcement had gone horribly wrong.<p>

Two days in which he had lived in complete darkness, eyes sealed by Shamal until the distraught healer was sure that the damage done was still reversible. It was a good thing that Taiga was on a trip with Neko, giving them around 5 days before she would return.

That gave her 5 more days for to restore his vision.

She had called Homubara High to report Shirou as being sick, leaving him unable to attend classes. She had forced her master to remain in bed as she carefully treated the muscular tissue surrounding his eyes, which had been torn to the point of flooding his eyes with blood. It seemed that in his effort to reinforce his eyes Shirou had forgotten to properly strengthen the muscular tissue controlling the movement of the eyes, only focusing on the strength and control without properly strengthening the fibers to bear the increased stress. The result had been that his super-strengthened muscular tissue had literally torn their opposing muscles apart with every twitch.

The damage was less severe than it looked, and someone of her caliber could easily stimulate the torn tissue to repair itself. At least he hadn't blown his optic nerve, which would have been a real nightmare.

Shamal simply shook her head as she entered her master's room, planning on replacing the bandages covering his eyes while checking on the progress of the recovery using her device…..

Her hopes for a swift recovery were crushed as she realized that her master was sweating like an otter, his body burning up as his magical reserves were rapidly depleting themselves once more.

"Oh no… please, not right now." Shamal murmured as she shot a pleading look at the pendant resting on her master's chest. 

* * *

><p>Once more he found himself standing in the wasteland, the sky darkened as countless starts illuminated the hills, shadows hiding the contents of the wasteland from his eyes.<p>

She sat on the hill, everything besides her face hidden amongst the shadows covering the landscape. Her eyes seemed distant and empty as she watched right through him, looking at him with that strange expression, a mixture of sadness and resignation. He tried calling to her, his voice refusing to work as his sight grew dark once more.

"I wonder how long the peaceful days will last this time. It's been so long since a master lasted this long. I had even started to hope that you might be the first to survive my curse…"

It was a gentle voice that spoke out, the first sign that the woman had noticed his presence. His vision went completely dark as the last specks of light disappeared, leaving him in total darkness.

"There still might be a small chance, a sliver of hope. Please, find a way to remove me and save yourself before I lead us all to ruin once more."

"Save… myself? No, that's not right. You, why are you telling me to save myself when you are looking so sad?" He wanted to shout, but all he could produce was a whisper, a faint sound produced in a desperate attempt to reach her.

"Ah, our master is really a fool. That kindness of yours will kill you eventually…" The woman spoke. Shirou couldn't see her, but from her voice it sounded like she was smiling at him.

"Farewell master, and pray that we will never meet again. For I will only cause you suffering."

Before he could respond the ground underneath his feet disappeared as he started to fall, tumbling into the void as he dropped into nothingness. 

* * *

><p>"Well, it's a good thing that Shirou wasn't very sick after all," Taiga concluded as she gorged herself on her breakfast, once more prepared by Shirou. "You should have called me though! I don't like being left out of the loop like that!"<p>

"Well, you were out of town and it wasn't something serious." Shirou replied as he sat down at the table himself. "I had Shamal to take care of me while I was lying down so everything worked out."

"Still, it's rare for you to get sick." Taiga munched on a particular though piece of meat as she voiced out her thoughts. "You never get the flu or anything like that. I thought you were as healthy as I was. I never get sick you know!"

"Well, they say fools never get sick" Vita replied as she munched on her own food, still looking like she wasn't fully awake.

"Are you saying that your marvelous Fuji-nee is an idiot?"

"Hmm! You catch on quick, my foolish apprentice!"

Shirou ignored the chaos at the dining table as the two females degenerated to the level of small children throwing insults, letting his thought wander for a bit. Shamal once more had put a hold on his usual training schedule until she was convinced that his body and his eyes had completely recovered from his little stunt and the sudden fever that had spiked while he was out. This left him with a lot of free time on this Sunday and with nothing to do for the first time in weeks.

Shirou decided that, if he had enough time to spend, he might as well catch up on some housework he had neglected for the last few weeks.

When had been the last time he had cleaned the shed? 

* * *

><p>"What's this?" Vita asked as she ran her hand over the strange design inscribed on the floor, as Shirou carried the cloth which covered the floor out into the open, most likely to wash it and leave it out to dry before putting it back. The girl's finger followed the pattern, a mixture of circles and inscriptions of a language she didn't recognize.<p>

"Did you make this Shirou?" she called out, but received no response from her master. She peeked out of the shed, only to see that her master had walked into the house. As she waited for the boy to return she circled around the strange design. It was large enough for Signum to lie down and still fit inside its confines.

Vita stepped inside the circle, holding her breath as she held Graf Eisen in her hand, powering up her device as she waited for something to happen.

A single cicada outside sung his song as Vita was rewarded with the usual sight of the shed, not a single sign of the circle reacting to her presence.

"Well, that was a letdown." Vita murmured as she dismissed her device, the prana collected by the device dispersing into the air.

Suddenly the shed was basked in a red glow, the insignia suddenly springing around as the familiar color of Vita's magic was absorbed by the spell circle inscribed on the shed's foundation. A cold shiver ran down Vita's spine as she felt her connection to her master dim, as if he was suddenly very far away.

"Ah… crap." 

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	9. Innocent days (II)

Fate/Night Sky  
>Innocent days (II)<p>

Alone. Isolated. Solitary.

Those were words to Shirou that lacked their true weight; they were more akin to abstract notions than an internalized concept for the distorted boy. He was never alone, not since the Tome had conjured four knights into his life on that fateful night. It was more than just the fact that their appearance marked the end of the emptiness of his life, the emptiness that his father's death had left in his home. On that distant night he himself had changed, although it had taken him a while to notice it. Slowly he had become aware of the strange sensation that lingering in the back of his head, indescribable in normal terms. The closest he could get to describing it was as if blots of light had buried themselves into the back of his skull, spreading a comfortable feeling of warmth throughout his brain. It was the way his brain comprehended the immaterial connection between himself and his knights; capable of conveying thoughts and images between the five of them. It was a sensation that had strengthened the bonding between him and his new family, the connection growing stronger over the years as his abilities developed, through his own training and his attempt to master his newly found powers, helped by the support and guidance of his makeshift family.

The connection wasn't very precise, though. Even after four years Shirou still couldn't actually sense their presence clearly all the time. His ability to accurately pinpoint their location dropped rather fast whenever the distance between himself and a knight became too great. It was hard enough for the boy to pin down Zafira's location when the man was working in downtown Fuyuki at night. If any of his knights were to leave the city grounds altogether it would probably stretch the connection to the point that he'd never be able to find them without the use of search spells.

Even so, their connection was the ever-present reminder that, wherever they were, it was always the five of them.

At first Shirou had felt somewhat uncomfortable about the whole situation, especially in the first days where he refused to believe that he was their master, but nowadays it was a comfort to him that no matter how far they went they were still connected to him-

Until Vita's presence suddenly faded from the back of his mind without warning.

It only took a moment for Shirou to process the change. He barely took heed of the fact that he had dropped the carpet he had been carrying to the ground, instead turning around in one swift motion as he ran back the way he came. The normally careful boy showed no consideration for anything that had the unfortunate fate of being directly in his path, raw fear pushing recklessly reinforced limbs to move at unnatural speeds. Soon he was joined by his other knights as they raced out of the house. The sight that greeted them was that of a reddish hue of light escaping from the shed's open door.

Something was happening in the shed, and Vita was somehow caught up in the middle of it.

* * *

><p>She felt….cold?<p>

Vita blinked, slowly shaking off the stupor that had hit her as her mind finally started to reboot. She tried to make sense of the strange sensation, but all her mind could make of it was a feeling similar to standing headfirst in a chilling breeze, leaving her shivering as she bathed in the light of the magic sigil. Her surprise was soon replaced with panic, bile slowly starting to push its way up her throat as she realized that the presence of her master and those of her fellow knights were quickly fading into nothing. Something had happened to them while she had been frozen in the shed, thoughts distracted by the strange twisting effects of the spell.

"…. A trap!" Vita cried out as her panic threatened to overtake her, her worries for her family clouding her thoughts as her treacherous mind brought up the most horrible scenarios to explain what was going on, on what could have happened while she was out…

"Shirou!" She screamed, almost begging for her master to give her any sign that he was alright. She forced herself to calm down, breathing slowing down as she gritted her teeth. If this was a trap designed to hold her in her place, she reasoned, then there had to be a physical component to this barrier to keep her from actually escaping. Combined with the initial effect of the paralyzation it was something that would be enough to hold any regular mage.

But Vita wasn't a regular mage.

No matter how many traps there were in stock for her, she would break them all. After that she would find her master. She was going to break this circle apart with brute force, of that she was certain.

"...After all," Vira roared as she lifted her trusty companion, "there isn't a single thing that can stand victorious against the Iron Count Vita and her trusty Graf Eisen!"

"Jawohl, mein m-"

Graf Eisen's response was cut off as a loud bang reverberated through the shed, shaking the girl out of her concentration. A smile blossomed on her face as her master and Zafira nearly tore the doors of the shed out of their hinges in their haste to get through the doorway.

Vita couldn't remember ever feeling so happy to see her master smacking straight into the wall with bone-crunching force, the idiot failing to slow down unlike his companion. Moments later Shamal and Signum joined them in the shed, and all that was left to dampen Vita's sheer relief in seeing everyone was the nagging realization that she still couldn't _sense _them.

What was going on?

"Vita!"

Her master's call pulled her attention back to Shirou. It seemed that the boy had recovered after his abrupt meeting with the wall and was now sprinting towards her without showing any sign of slowing down.

"Shirou! You can't-"

Vita's cry of protest was cut short as her master ran straight into her, his bull-rush launching both of them out of the circle and against the wall. Vita managed to swallow a cry of pain instead, hissing as the impact pushed the air from her lungs and forced it through her clenched teeth. The girl clung onto Shirou as the boy slumped onto the ground, his presence and that of the others slowly returning to her senses. From the corner of her eye Vita watched the glow of the magic circle dim, before the floor of the shed returned to normal.

"Shirou, you're being a bit clingy…" Vita whimpered, her face showing the slightest hint of a smile as her master's tight grip refused to lessen. Vita's head was propped on her master's shoulder, positioned at an angle that made it impossible for her to see her master's face. It did give her a perfect spot to see the faces of her fellow knights.

Vita noted that their expressions weren't that different from her own. The other knights rushed to her and her master, their faces showing a mixture of fear and relief.

* * *

><p>"What exactly was that spell in the shed?" Shirou spoke, addressing his fellow housemates who were now propped around the dinner table. It was strange for them to hear him speak like this, his voice betraying the rather unpleasant mood of the normally gentle boy. He hadn't spoken a single word while thoroughly locking the shed's doors as Shamal took the struggling Vita to their room, subjecting the girl to every test she could think of.<p>

It had been growing dark by the time the green healer had tentatively declared that Vita was mostly unharmed… as far as she could know. There had been no injuries aside from the sore spot on her back, caused by own master's rescue attempt.

"It's not a trap, at least not one that was designed to physically restrain or harm the target" Shamal answered as the medic took the word. "Vita is almost unharmed, both physically and mentally, as far as I can see. Her physical body, her linker core and her spell casting abilities are mostly unaffected. Graf Eisen reports no errors in both its firmware and software."

"I also do not believe that anyone would place a mental trap in such an unlikely place. I see no reason for the back of the shed to be guarded in such a manner unless there was something of great value" Signum added, pausing for a moment as a frown appeared on her face. "It might have been something used by Kiritsugu to protect something of value."

"I don't think the old man had anything of value in the shed, at least not while I was exploring it. He certainly didn't seem to mind me using it as my own playground."

"Perhaps this wasn't a trap to guard something." Zafira noted. "It could have been a test case of some sorts, a prototype for a new trap he experimented on in his workshop. Perhaps he was planning on used this design to reinforce the boundary surrounding this house?"

"Dad never told me about anything like that while he was alive," Shirou shook his head in response. "And I've never seen dad set up anything as complicated as this circle, even during the old man's lessons. Somehow… I don't think he made this one, at least not after I came to live here."

"There is something that bothers me," Shamal spoke up as she placed Klarwind on the table. With a tap of her finger the device projected a display of green lines and circles in the air, displaying the floor and the circle of the shed above the table. "After taking a detailed image of the inscription I also ran an analysis of the materials found in its make-up. It looks like someone carved the entire thing into the ground itself, before filled the carving with a mixture of lead, silver, iron and several other metals, but also traces of biodegradable materials. It also looks like someone used some very aggressive cleaning materials to clean the entire floor a few years ago."

"You mean like industrial-grade cleaning materials?" Shirou immediately responded, eager to jump in on the new lead. Taking Shamal's surprised look as a yes, he continued. "Back when Dad and I moved into this place most of the building was a mess with floors and walls that were still being fixed. It took months of work before everything was done. I wasn't even allowed in the shed until everything was cleaned inside…"

"Emiya Kiritsugu might not have been the architect of this spell, but if he was fine with leaving it in its place then I doubt that it was something that's capable of harming him or Shirou." Zafira added.

"It tried to do something to me," Vita pointed out, "though it failed to do anything beyond isolating me from you."

"I couldn't sense Vita at all… just remembering it makes my skin crawl". Shirou confessed, trying to shake off the strange feeling that had been haunting him. "Even though I only entered the circle for a brief moment, things still feel strange, somewhat dimmed.

"Yeah, I know, it's disturbing." Vita agreed. "Also, for some reason I get this feeling that I'm seeing.. well, more like feeling double whenever I'm looking at you, as if something is sitting right in your spot."

"You didn't tell me this before!" Shamal accused the girl. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"That's because you'd keep prodding my brain until it's full of holes." Vita meekly replied, trying to dodge Shamal's stare.

"That's no reason at all!" Shamal yelled her voice a mixture of anger and worry. "You still might be affected by all of this! You should at least allow me to take another look!"

"You prodding around with my brain is not going to make me feel any better!"

"Enough. Vita will stay in Shamal's room this night so she can keep an eye on her..." Shirou decided, staring at both knights until they nodded in agreement. "As for the circle itself… "

"Perhaps it was some sort of tool your father used to suppress his presence?" Signum tapped a finger on the table as she recalled the events from the afternoon. "From what happened once Vita activated it seems that the circle effectively cut her off from the rest of us, if not from the world itself.

"Too bad the whole 'glowing circle' is a dead giveaway for someone who wants to hide himself." Vita pointed out.

"I've never seen my old man use magic like that…." For a moment Shirou paused. "On the other hand, I've barely seen him use magic outside of my training…"

"You did say he had just started to teach you the basics before he passed away" Signum pointed out. "Perhaps he kept his more dangerous repertoire hidden from you, including spells like this one?"

"I suppose that could be so" Shirou reluctantly agreed, "but… dad wasn't really doing much aside from his business trips. He kept a lot of things hidden, like the fact that he was sick-"

"I sure hope he wasn't using that thing as a medical treatment or something." Vita muttered, resulting in an irritated glare from Signum. Shamal opened her mouth to add her piece, but paused as she glanced to the side of the room.

"Shamal?" Shirou notice d the blonde's strange reaction, before his eyes widened in surprise as Shamal suddenly pulled Klarwind closer, taking a good look at the projection of the circle.

"The size fits, but the environment is so unfitting…"

"Shamal?"

"-perhaps not sterilization, but isolation?"

"Shamal, what are you talking about?" Only at the third attempt did Shirou's voice get through to the healer, who quickly pulled herself out of her musings.

Shamal suddenly became aware of the fact that she had drawn everyone's attention onto her.

"I…" She stammered, "I think Vita might be right…"

"I'm-right?" Vita gawked at the healer.

"But …. You lost me." Shirou confessed after staring at Shamal for several long moments.

"The size of the circle certainly is large enough for a full grown person to lie down within the perimeter." Shamal hesitantly continued. "Vita herself wasn't physically affected by the circle itself, but it seems it did cut her off from the outside of the circle, leaving her isolated from the rest of the world. From what Shirou has demonstrated so far, outside influences can heavily affect the outcome of his magecraft if he's disturbed. From a healers standpoint I would never want to risk treating a patient in a situation when I can't rely on my tools. It's like operating on an operation table without sterilizing the environment."

"The circle cuts off outside interference…. most likely magical interference." Signum picked up where Shamal was heading to. "That's why we couldn't sense Vita; the circle was designed to keep the person inside isolated and shielded from the outside."

"When any outside interference is capable of destabilizing the healing process of my spells I'd be foolish to not set up a boundary to keep out said interference." Shamal pointed out.

"Are you saying…" Vita interrupted, the girl visibly confused by the sudden shift in the discussion. "…that Shirou's dad preformed some crazy magical surgery inside a primitive magic circle -in a shed, filled with boxes of scraps?"

"Hey, those aren't just scraps!" Shirou objected, taking the latter part of Vita's statement as a personal offense. "Besides, my dad couldn't even heal his own paper cuts; he always fumbled around with bandages. I doubt he was a professional healer of some sorts."

"It might have been used by someone else, a colleague of your father of some sorts. Even so, it is the best explanation we have so far." Signum pointed out.

"I'm still suggesting that we get rid of it though, I don't like that thing lurking next to our master when he's practicing." Vita stated, before her usual smirk finally managed to find its way back on her face "Who knows, it might just activate again when he's pulling exploding teapots from out of his sleeves."

"That only happened once!" Shirou pointed out. Even so, he couldn't resist smiling at Vita's bad joke, mostly because it was the first one she had made ever since the start of this disturbing afternoon.

Seeing the tension slip from his other knights made him realize he wasn't they only one who had needed the little pick-me-up.

"For now we cover it up again with the blanket from the shed, and stay outside the perimeter of the circle. It only activated because you discharged Graf Eisen in the center, right?"

"Right." Vita confirmed, as she nodded her head.

"We can take another look at it in a few days. For now I suggest we leave the shed locked, seeing that Shirou isn't allowed any practice at this point." Signum stared at her master, who suddenly felt the need to stretch his limbs while averting the unrelenting gaze. "W-well then…" Shirou spoke, awkwardly trieing to make his way to the kitchen, only to find both Shamal and Signum barring his way.

"Did I do something wrong?" he meekly asked as both females stared down at him.

"You used reinforcement during your little sprint to the shed, even though I forbade you from practicing it for at least another week after your little stunt with your eyes…." Shamal stated.

"But Vita was in danger!" Shirou protested. "I had to…."

"You had to jump right into what could have been a trap without even taking a single moment to take heed of your allies or your surroundings." Signum added calmly, a little _too_ calmly. It was the small twitch of her eyebrows and the gritting of Shamal's teeth that alerted Shirou to the fact that the swordswoman and the healer might have been a bit upset about his rash actions.

Their gaze also had the unfortunate side-effect of freezing his limbs in place, making escape a non-valid option.

"I think you should continue your recovery in a _calm and uneventful way,_" Shamal coldly spoke as Vita prodded her frozen master with her index finger. "Until I give you a green bill of health and when Signum is satisfied with your grasp of simple tactical insight you are now dismissed from any kitchen duties."

"You can't do that!" A desperate cry filled the room. It took Shirou a few moments to realize that he hadn't even gotten the chance to vocalize his reply before Vita had cried out in dismay, her face contorted by her anguish from hearing Shirou's upcoming penalty. "Who's going to cook dinner for me?"

"I will." Shamal stated as she closed the subject, walking into the kitchen while leaving behind a demoralized Shirou and a catatonic Vita. After a few moments the latter cried out in anguish before pursuing the older blond into the kitchen.

"Don't do this! I'm….We're going to starve!" Vita begged.

"My cooking isn't that bad anymore!"

* * *

><p>It was late in the evening by the time things had somewhat returned to normalcy. Shirou simply sat at the table, barely paying attention to the heated argument between his smallest knight and the healer, who was now dominating his kitchen with a firm grip. If Taiga was to walk into the room right now it would look like any ordinary day to her, sans his cooking. But to him the mood lingering in the air felt like an imitation of the regular one, the disturbing mixture of fear and anger that had been pouring from all of them still lingering in the background even as regular life continued. They were all trying to ignore it and act normally, but everyone was still feeling uneasy.<p>

It was hard for any of them to lie to another; they knew each other far too well.

Each of them had, even for just a moment, come to the same conclusion when Vita vanished from their senses: The most obvious thing had been to think that they had fallen under attack. Even though it had been a false alarm, their image of their careless life on earth had become strained. The incident had reminded his knights that this life was far more fragile than they would like to admit. For four years they had lived an ordinary life in Fuyuki, made friends, made memories and formed their makeshift family. It seemed that their wish to continue living like that was not so simple anymore.

Until the book was complete Shirou couldn't protect them; filling it would take him at least five more years. Would they be able to remain undetected for so long? The looming threat of the so called 'second owner', the appearance of those magical constructs and now this strange ritualistic circle left behind by his father. Somehow it felt to him that these events were signs of something to come. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but Shirou couldn't shake the feeling that Fuyuki was heading towards something big, threatening to sweep his family along with it in its wake.

For the first time in months Shirou wished that his father was still alive to guide him.

* * *

><p>"It's been a while Signum!"<p>

Signum didn't look up as a familiar voice called to her from the far end of the archery dojo, filled with students practicing before homeroom started. Shamal had finally decided that her master was free to pursue his training once more and thus Signum had rejoined the practice sessions of the archery club along with him.

"Mitsuzuri Ayako?" Signum answered before even looking at the girl. Only she, her master and Taiga would ever refer to her as just 'Signum' instead of using her last name.

"Correct! It's been a while since you've been here at practice sempai. I almost feared you weren't going to show up at all…"

"Shirou was not in a state to practice any sports lately and it wasn't really feasible for me to come here alone."

"Ah, the captain wasn't really happy when our Tiger told him Shirou was sick." Ayako nodded her head. "He was rather disappointed when it became clear that Shirou couldn't participate in last week's regional competition. It seemed our captain thought the competition was already in the bag."

"I did hear you preformed rather well though" Signum pointed out. It was apparently the answer Ayako had been waiting for as the brunette's smile grew into a full-blown grin.

"It seems like months of practicing are paying off after all. You might want to get back in action yourself; I'm still planning on beating you."

Signum was well aware of the girl's competitive streak. Even so…

"Why is it _me _that you want to beat? Between the two of us, Shirou is still the better shooter on the range."

"No no, Shirou won't do! He'll just miss on purpose like last time. Also…" Ayako paused, the girl stalling as Signum waited for her answer.

"It's because Ayako-chan here is a bit of a tomboy who actually wishes she could act as feminine as you… or something like that" Taiga spoke, having snuck up onto the unsuspecting Ayako who shot Signum a betrayed look.

"No! I mean… why didn't you tell me she was right behind me?" Ayako cried out, before her voice was cut off. Signum winched slightly as Ayako shot a betrayed look at her before her teacher locked the girl into a steel grip.

"Now now Ayako-chan," Taiga smiled. "That's the least you should worry about right now, because Fuji-nee here just overheard you talking to Signum while using a very unpleasant name…" Taiga's voice was sickeningly sweet, her smile almost perfect aside from the small twitches at the corner of her mouth.

Signum knew exactly what it meant.

It was just a nickname, but apparently Fujimura Taiga took it rather seriously. Even her master had faced Taiga's wrath on several occasions after invoking it, and Vita alone had triggered countless episodes, just to tease the woman.

"I think I hear Shirou calling for me… on the other side of the dojo." Ayako weakly offered, desperately looking for a way to escape her upcoming punishment.

"I don't recall calling you," An unexpected voice answered Ayako' prayers. "Also, I'm standing right here."

"Emiya-kun?" Ayako squeaked as the girl finally noticed the redhead who had snuck up right next to her. "W-when did you?"

"Ah, you're finally here Shirou," Signum nodded, simply watching as Ayako shot a pleading look at the boy. At first he seemed confused at her gesture, but even Emiya Shirou wasn't dense enough to not notice Ayako's desperate expression, Taiga's twitching eyebrow and the small smirk Signum was sporting.

"Haaaa," The boy sighed, before putting up a smile as he turned towards the beast holding Ayako in her grip.

"Fuji-nee, you are going to choke Mitsuzuri-san if you keep holding onto her like that. Also, I got some leftovers from breakfast with me…"

"Shirou-kun is such a thoughtful boy!" Taiga squealed as she let go of her captive. "I did a good thing raising you didn't I!"

Shirou simply nodded, pretending to ignore the fact that Ayako had taken cover behind her rival's back, as he watched Taiga take off with the small bag he had been holding, most likely planning on devouring every last bite before homeroom started.

Shirou let out a chuckle as the sight of the retreating Taiga before turning towards the other two females. "Did I miss something?"

"Did I ever mention that you really are the best friend I've ever had?" Ayako shot the boy a grateful look, before slapping him on the back.

"Only the last three times he had to bail you out from Fujimura's wrath." Signum pointed out.

* * *

><p>"Yo Emiya!"<p>

It was already growing darker as Shirou made his way through the empty corridors of the school, having left his bag in the classroom before heading for archery practice. On his way back he had ran into someone unexpected.

"Shinji, aren't you supposed to be at the range fixing the targets? It was your turn today after all."

"About that, I wanted to ask you a favor…."

Shinji stepped aside, revealing the blond freshman that had been hidden from Shirou's view.

"..Amy and I were supposed to go into town right now to do some shopping, but Sensei suddenly picked me out for that bothersome chore. You know what bad manners it would be for me to just break my promise with her. So! I was thinking, 'isn't there anyone I know who could help me out?' and there you were! I mean, you like helping people right?"

Shirou couldn't resist letting out a sigh as Shinji smiled at him. He knew that it was a bad habit of the boy, but what he said did make some sense…

"Fine, I'll take care of it. You'd better hurry though, shops close within the hour."

"Thanks Emiya!" He smirked before turning to his companion. "See, I told you he'd help me out, he's always nice like that."

"I'll pay you back another time Emiya!" Shinji yelled as he and his female friend made off. Shirou simply shrugged before heading back to the archery club. Signum would have to wait a bit longer but his knight would probably understand…

Besides, Shinji would make good on his word. They boy did pay back his favors after all.

* * *

><p>"Oh Emiya, where's Matou?"<p>

As soon as Shirou walked into the dojo he took notice of the people in the open space. To his surprise he was not just greeted by the familiar duo of the captain and his second but also by the sight of his guardian. Further in the back of the club sat Ayako, the girl already having started on stringing the bows that had come undone during practice.

For some reason it also felt like nobody had been really surprised that it hadn't been Shinji that walked into the dojo.

"Shinji couldn't make it, so I offered to fill in for him." Shirou replied

"I told you the boy would find a way to dump his responsibilities." The captain spoke as he shook his head. "He might have a way with people, but it seems his discipline is still a bit lacking."

"Well, we can't do anything about it right now." The vice-captain muttered, before snapping her fingers "Wait, with both Ayako and Shirou here we can take care of our other business right now."

"~Ayako-chan! Over here~" Taiga beckoned the girl, who paused her activities in response to the woman's call.

"Yes, Fujimura-sensei?"

"Congratulations on becoming the vice-captain!"

"Eh?"

"Fujimura-sensei, you're rather tactless," the captain sighed. "But… that's pretty much the gist of it."

"…Not going to give me any chance to decline, are you… " Ayako complained. She wasn't fooling anyone though, as even Shirou noticed the smile on her face.

Shirou hadn't been the only of her classmates who had expected her to succeed the current captain. After all, when not chasing after Signum or him for a rematch, she already had become the older sister type everyone could count on both in class and around the club.

Of course, the one time he had mentioned that she had been rather angry at him, mentioning something about a woman's age and such.

"Congratulations Mitsuzuri-san!" Shirou congratulated the girl, before pausing as realization hit him. "Wait, Vice-captain. If Ayako isn't the new captain, then who is?"

An awkward silence followed as both captains stared at him. When Taiga somehow failed to answer both of them turned their attention towards the only other adult in the room

"Fujimura-sensei... you told us he had already accepted…"

"He did… he just doesn't know it yet! I also failed to ask him in the first place but that's just formality now. Congratulations Shi-"

"FUJI-NEE!" Shirou cried out; not sure if he was angry, embarrassed or just plain outraged at the fact that his guardian had once more pulled off something ridiculous.

"Oh come on Shirou!" Taiga dismissed his outrage with a wave of her hand before she pointed at him. "You like helping people, you are the best shooter in the club and you already run most of the stuff I'm supposed to do. There isn't anyone better suited for the role. And we all know that if I'd ask you directly you'd try to get out of it, saying that someone else would be a better choice."

"Of course there is! I'm…"

"Besides," Taiga pointed her finger to the open door, as if her next statement was about to walk into the room. "It was Signum's idea."

"…..Signum?" Shirou paused turning his head towards the door as his eyes followed Taiga's pointed finger. His confusion only grew larger as he found Signum standing in the doorway. Shirou had already known she was outside the dojo, the short distance between them betraying her location to him even before she entered school terrain. Thus it wasn't her presence that was confusing him, but the fact that she was nodded her head in agreement with Taiga.

"…You lost me here." Shirou confessed, trying to get a grasp on Signum's thoughts.

"It's for you to gain experience."

When Shirou's befuddled look failed to disappear Signum continued her explanation. "You possess a lot of skill and knowledge, but so far you've only been using it to help others from the bottom up, supporting those on top from their backs. You should have figured out by now that people can only achieve so much from such a position. I know you dislike taking charge of other people, to lead from example and to take the reins. But it's an ability which is necessary in the world."

"But I'm fine with helping people" Shirou rebutted. "Why shouldn't someone else…"

"Because lately your actions have shown that it's far too easy for people like Matou Shinji to use you for their own ends." Signum cut him off, a hint of annoyance slipping in her voice.

_" Shirou… your desire to help others is beyond kindness at this point, even for a normal person. The master of the tome is not someone who serves… but one who leads. You cannot allow yourself to be pushed around with such ease. Acting like that will only allow people to stain your ideals with their greed…._

Signum's message, unheard by the others in the room made Shirou swallow his reply. Even so...

_"This is just a sports club. Why are you so hell-bent on making me the captain?"_

_"That's right; it's just a club, so why are you hesitating? You made a promise to us and yourself that you'd master an unimaginable artifact of power, and to use its power to become an ally of justice. Why are you so desperate to dodge such little responsibility in comparison?"_

"I'm… I'm probably going to end up doing Fuji-nee's share of the work along with my own as well, aren't I?"

"Uhm! Shirou-chan is such an understanding boy!" The shameless tiger smiled at him, chuckling as her prey realized that he was out of options…

Well, mostly.

"Can I dump those chores on Signum then? It shouldn't be that hard for Fujimura-sensei to make her an official assistant if she tried."

"Hmm! Our future captain has some bright ideas! This Fujimura-Sensei will work on it as soon as she can!"

"….eh?" By now Signum's expression was a mirror of her confusion.

"Looks like we'll be in your care then." Ayako smirked as she and Shirou bowed towards the confused knight. "Nice touch of delegation there, _captain."_

_"_I learned from the best." Shirou meekly replied as both students watched Signum being pulled along by an amused Taiga.

* * *

><p>"Captain? They are making <em>you<em> captain of the archery club?"

The look of surprise on Shinji's face was genuine, the blue haired boy staring at Shirou as if the boy had suddenly grown a third head. Shinji's outcry had been loud enough to draw the attention of the people standing next to them on the range, making them halt their shooting as they tried to listen in onto the conversation.

A single glare from Signum was all it took to turn their attention back on their targets, the knight shaking her head at the sight.

"They also decided to make Ayako the next Vice-captain, so she will be helping me out." Shirou pointed out as said girl coincidentally walked past them, most likely planning on talking to Signum for another rematch.

"Ayako… I see. They'd need a housewife as a captain to balance out that tomboy. You'll be busy just keeping her boyish mood in check!" Shinji laughed as Ayako, who had also been listening in on the two of them, went rigid for a moment. Shirou's smile slipped a bit as the girl shot an uncomfortable look in their direction.

"You should try to be more careful with what you say Shinji. Sometimes you say things that sound rather unpleasant."

"Sorry, sorry! I'll keep that in mind, _captain. _Anyway, thanks for filling in for me yesterday. Did they keep you working for the entire evening?"

"Ah, we were done rather quickly actually."

Shirou watched as Shinji walked off during his answer, his friend seemly having lost his interest the moment he was off the hook. For a moment he thought of calling him back to explain what had happened, but shook his shoulders as he turned towards his own target.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again master. People like him are poisonous friends." Signum muttered, not even bothering to use telepathy.

Shirou didn't feel the need to answer her.

* * *

><p>Shirou emptied his mind; letting the image of his arrow striking the target appear as his mind chose between the multiple paths he could follow to place the shot. He carefully allowed prana to flow into the structure of his eyes and the surrounding tissue, making sure that the reinforcement did not cause damage. After he finished his preparations he let out a sigh, the breath that he had been holding escaping from his lips as he relaxed for a moment. In response the six black wings immediately adjusted themselves to keep his shifting weight from altering his balance even as the wind tried to rip him apart.<p>

Floating around one kilometer above a planet's surface did make hitting the target somewhat more difficult, and any regular arrow would be subjected to the wind at this altitude. The only reason he himself was unaffected was that his barrier jacket was keeping the weather at bay.

Recreating his usual bow he nocked an projected arrow into position, aiming for the small hilltop located several kilometers from his position.

At least gravity wasn't fighting against him in this particular setup.

Unlike Signum he did not calculate factors like the wind speed for correcting his aim. After all, the act of shooting was something that was already decided before the arrow even left his bow. As long as he could see a path leading to the target the arrow would follow that course, even if unknown factors affected the shot… unless his shot was actively impeded or outside his capabilities.

Thus he knew that, even before the arrow was shot, that it would fail to hit the target…

Even so, he pulled back the string as od flooded his muscles while he reinforced the bow. The power stored in the bowstring was unleashed as Shirou fired his first shot, using his augmented view to keep track of the arrow. He watched as the wind pulled at the projectile, dragging it away from his target as the arrow eventually pierced the earth, shattering on impact far off course from the gigantic bull's-eye Vita had created on the ground, courtesy of Graf Eisen's brute force.

The projectile hadn't been fast enough, unable to slice through the winds in a way that would prevent it from being made a plaything to the gales. Projecting another arrow, this time carefully altered to fit his desires, he allowed his self to fade away in the background as the multitudes of outcomes presented themselves.

"There…"

Shirou picked the result that would result in the arrow hitting the target, his fingers releasing the bowstring as he unleashed his second shot. The arrow shot towards the earth as the winds toyed with its trajectory, just as he had seen. But this time all the wind could do was guide it along the path Shirou had chosen before it had even been released.

Shirou had already turned his sight away from the target by the time the arrow impacted on the outer circle of the target, shattering on impact. Instead Shirou's attention was drawn to the bow in his hand, cracks running through the material as it lost cohesion.

Once more his projection was unable to maintain itself after bearing the strain of a second shot, the structure falling apart before his eyes.

"So, this is my limit then." Shirou sighed as he folded his wings as he fell backwards, dropping altitude as he sped down towards the surface of the planet.

* * *

><p>"Well, it isn't that much of a surprise, your projections tend to break after a while." Vita pointed out as they made themselves at home in their base camp, each of his knights mulling over a cup of tea while Shirou relayed his latest results. "I mean, even with your perfect aim and reinforcing there is simply a limit for any physical object before it breaks. My swalbenvliegen are able to adjust for wind corrections midflight and Signum's sturmfalken possesses the same abilities. You on the other hand are just shooting a stick without any additional propulsion, so you have to pump in all the power right at the start. No wonder you keep breaking things."<p>

"Even so, your reinforced arrows are a devastating surprise attack. Because it's not a linked construct it also means no regular mage will sense the arrow coming." Signum noted. "It also seems that experimenting like this has given you a firm grasp of your own abilities, helping you grasp both your weaknesses and your strong points."

"I just wish I could get my hands on a Device with even half the strength of Laevatein's bogenform." Shirou sighed. "I can't even get close to imitating it with my projections."

"The combat device designated for the master is sealed inside the tome until the activation threshold is passed." Shamal reminded the boy. "Instead of looking for an intermediate weapon, you could also try practicing some of the simpler offensive spells available in the tome."

"I tried, remember?" Shirou pointed out. "But unlike projection those spells drain a lot of prana. Just one _bluticher dolchen_ takes the same amount of a dozen of regular arrows. Even worse, I need to use my linker core to cast these spells, unlike my projection which I can fuel uses my circuits. Once I've expended whatever amount which I have stored in my core I'll have to actively use my circuits to refill it mid-battle. If that's impossible I'll be left without any fuel, forced to rely on the stored power of the tome to continue casting. That means sacrificing pages to continue fighting."

"In a worst case scenario such a course might turn out to be a necessary evil." Zafira placed his cup on the ground as he turned towards his master. "Above else, your survival is the most important thing. No number of pages is worth risking your life. If you were to be harmed, or even killed because you held back…"

"Shirou won't be harmed, anyone trying to do so will have to walk over my dead body." Vita darkly muttered before putting on a smile as to relieve him of his worries. "Don't worry; we'll die before anything happens to you!"

Her statement, although meant to be reassuring, was like a punch in Shirou's stomach, as he watched her smile while proclaiming that she'd die so easily when needed. "That's not right…" He tried, before he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'll just have to start collecting the pages anew if I need to, so I'll keep you guys safe no matter what."

"I still say that we should try not to get into that trouble in the first place." Shamal spoke as she collected the empty cups. "Also, it looks like we have run out of time. We should head back to Fuyuki, it's past midnight in Japan."

"Give me a moment; I still have to clean up my last projections." Shirou spoke as he walked over to the other side of the camp, his tome appearing in his hand as it opened itself on a half-filled page. Grabbing a pale imitation of Laevatein, another failed attempt in duplicating Signum's prized weapon, Shirou watched as the imitation dispersed into dust. As the fake dematerialized the book glowed softly, drawing the remains of the projection into the open page.

The tome closed itself after the final fragments dissipated, returning itself into Shirou's open hand in the form of the familiar pendant. Without a word the boy stood up before walking towards his knights, mentally preparing the commands for the tome to transport them home.

Soon their home away from home was deserted once more, life returning to the house on a distant blue world.

* * *

><p>It was strange, Shirou noted, to stand in the dojo watching the prospective members enter, his juniors walking around the dojo as the members of the club took them under their wings. He himself had been more then glad to help them out personally, but it seemed that all he could do for now was to overlook the entire thing and jump in when necessary.<p>

He still felt uneasy being the captain, but at least he had the support of Ayako and Signum. He watched as the latter started talking to one of the female juniors who has silently made her way into the dojo. As Shinji appeared next to the girl it dawned on Shirou that it was the same girl he had seen while visiting Shinji's house on several occasions.

"Matou Sakura."

Well, if she wanted to join the same club as her brother, who was he to say no? Ayako would probably get along fine with the girl. She had taken to her new role as Vice-captain much easier than he had. Shirou just didn't like saying no to people, and all of the veteran club members knew it. Thus Ayako had made it one of her unofficial duties to enforce some discipline on the members who tried to take advantage of his desire to help people. During their training camp, organized in the spring break before the start of the new school year, she had seen to it that most of the members who attempted it ended up with 'special practice', courtesy of the Vice-captain.

In response several of the club members had started to cry foul play, as they accused Ayako of "hoarding her wife…"

Shirou silently let out a groan as he recalled just how he had gotten the nickname, as well how they had ended up with the moniker "married couple of the archery club". After the older members, including the captains started preparing for their graduation graduated. He and Ayako had started to take over the tasks left behind by their predecessors. Most of it went fine, the two of them working surprisingly well together. The problem was when they didn't agree on something. In such cases they soon found themselves butting heads over the smallest things. Shirou knew that people called him stubborn, but it looked like Ayako and he tended to draw the best and the worst out of each other at such moments. It didn't take long for Signum and Taiga to figure out that, if they weren't there to take an impartial stand, the two of them could end up arguing for hours before one of them would finally give in.

It was strange though, Shirou mused, that even after something like that they'd end up laughing and smiling the next day as if nothing had happened. A part of him was glad that they could fight over the simplest things, such as the format of the training schedule, and then patch things up without any problems.

That was, until Taiga had noticed the trend and as result had dubbed them "….like an old husband and his wife."

Since then they had been stuck with the moniker. Shirou was somewhat annoyed with it but Ayako really seemed to hate it, her face turning crimson whenever it was mentioned.

All in all their new positions had made it harder for him to follow her lines of thought. There had been some strange situations before, such as Ayako barging into his home after hearing from Taiga that he had fallen ill again, his body once more wrecked with a fever and heavy limbs. Apparently she had offered to deliver the printouts from the classes he had missed, even though Fuji-nee could have dropped them off just the same. When he had pointed that out she had become very silent, before diverting the subject to something else.

For some reason her visit had put Shamal and a Vita in a surprisingly good mood, the latter unable to wipe the smirk of her face.

Strangely enough, it had made him somewhat happy too. It had been the first time a classmate had visited his home when he was sick after all. It was almost like living a normal life, having a friend visiting their sick friend's house, chatting and wasting time for a little bit. It had him wondering how things would have been if not for the fire…

"Well, that doesn't really matter," Shirou thought out loud, clutched the necklace resting on his chest. There was no reason to ask how his life could have been different, after all. He was Emiya Shirou, the one who inherited the ideals of the hero who saved him, and whose dream he would make a reality….

To not do so would be to spit on the graves of those who hadn't survived.

* * *

><p><em>"Even though dad isn't here anymore, I'll still carry on his dream."<em>

_"And what would that dream be, Master?" Signum spoke up as she turned towards her master, the child smiling as he proclaimed his ideals to the world once again._

_"To become an ally of justice who can save everyone, and become a great magus like my father!"_

Signum opened her eyes, finding herself sitting in lukewarm water as she looked around the bathroom.

"A dream?" Signum pulled herself out of the warer, reaching for a towel as she shook her head. "No…. just a memory."

It wasn't the first time that particular scene had been the subject of her slumber. Something was off, something was bothering her much more then it was supposed to be. Her master was growing stronger, both in mind and soul. Thanks to her little intervention he was slowly forced to balance his desire to help others and to simply say 'no', the result of her and Ayako's continuing campaign to get Shirou to, as the brunette had put it, 'man up'.

Said campaign had been an uphill battle, Shirou's unusual stubbornness in the debacle forcing both her and Ayako to butt heads with him on many occasions. There were no bad feelings, Shirou being far to kind to bear any grudge to them, but his persistence on the matter remained beyond normal.

Signum let out a sight as she slipped into the clothes Shirou had prepared for her. Walking out of the bathroom she immediately headed for the living room, where her master was currently residing.

"How was the bath?" Shirou spoke before she even entered the room, sitting next to a pillow he had prepared for her.

"It was satisfactory." Signum replied, sitting down on the pillow with a practiced ease that betrayed the familiarity of the motion. Without delay Shirou's hands began their job, one hand grabbing the brush he had prepared as the other started to separate the pink strands as he made short work of the small knots that had made themselves into her long hair.

It was one of the few little luxuries that Signum allowed herself to indulge in as her master silently worked on her hair, the woman simply sitting in a seiza position. It was an unspoken agreement that none of her fellow Wolkenritter would disturb them during such occasions, even Vita respecting "Signum's Shirou-time."

Normally, neither of them spoke during their time alone. This time however…

_"To become an ally of justice who can save everyone…."_

It bothered her.

"Shirou. You said that you wanted to become a hero, right?"

"-Hmm. I'm going to become an ally of justice." Shirou paused for a moment, before he continued to tend to her hair as if he had not heard her question. "Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering. How will you use the tome's power to fulfill that dream when you finish filling all of the pages and awaken the tome?"

"Signum?"

"It's a power that can change the world, and someday you will obtain it." she added. She spoke the sentence the same way one would state a fact, not a single hint of doubt that Shirou would acquire the power of the tome.

"I don't know." The doubt in Shirou's voice contrasted with the certainty of her previous statement.

A part of Signum wasn't even surprised at her master's confession. After all…

"Master… what is the difference between a normal human and an ally of justice?"

"That's simple. A normal human is incapable of saving everyone while an ally of justice is one that is capable, no matter the circumstances. There are no people left behind, or humans that are not saved."

"But, to wish for everyone to be saved..." Signum hesitantly spoke, only to be cut off by Shirou.

"To be honest, I still don't know what I have to do to realize that dream." There was no trace of doubts in Shirou's voice as Signum turned to face her master. "Dad once told me that, to save one person means that there's someone else that isn't saved. Even if one managed to save several lives, nobody can save everyone. In the end someone is sacrificed to save another. If a robber was to pull a gun against another man's face and is about to shoot, it would mean that the only way that man's life can be saved is to kill the robber. But then, it means that to save one life I must take another…

It wasn't often that Signum was able to see such a disapproving expression on her master's face as he continued to speak, more to himself then to her. "I cannot accept that. A real ally of justice is supposed to save everyone else, so I cannot allow anyone to fall just so that others can be saved."

"Are you planning on saving everyone in your sight, no matter who they are? Are you planning on saving both the innocent and the murderer?"

"… I will save everyone who asks to be saved." Shirou spoke. "I want to be able to save everyone in my sight. When people call for help there should be someone capable of saving them all, not just the lucky ones…. "

Signum didn't ask if his last statement was an accusation to Shirou's role model, or to himself who was saved at the cost of many others. She didn't ask because, deep down, she didn't want to know.

The hollow look in Shirou's eyes was enough for her to understand that, right now, her master wasn't with her but was wandering in the hell from his memories.

She had never seen the memory herself, her master refusing to allow his knights to view it. On some days she believed it was because he was too kind to them, but on days like this she feared it was because he had decided to carry the burden alone, as a form of atonement for those who he had left behind…..

Before she knew it she had embraced her master, burying his face in her bosom as she cradled his head in her arms. She remained silent, having nothing to say to him, while her master simply indulged her impulsive action, showing no sign of resistance to her sudden embrace.

"-Even so..."

Her master's voice had increased in strength as he, somewhat reluctantly, detached himself from her chest, the blush on his cheeks evidence of his embarrassment for his lapse in composure. Signum watched as he looked up at her, his usual spark returning in his gaze. "…Even so, I will find a way to become a hero who can save everyone. I refuse to believe that this dream is impossible."

"Shirou…"

Signum knew. She knew that this ideal, this strange fantasy was impossible. There had been countless men and women who had cried out their desire to be a hero, her own existence filled with the blurred memories of those who fought for justice.

She knew how their lives had ended. They had perished or had forsaken their dreams in the end, names forgotten and bones reduced to dust.

Shirou's ideal matched the kindness of her master's heart but Signum knew that the harsh reality of the battlefield was too cruel to ever see it realized.

It was impossible. Even so, a part of her… truly wanted to believe in that dream.

That's right, ever since that night four years ago, when she had first learned of his dream, she had yearned to know…. if that impossibility could be defied. That child and the boy sitting in front of her carried the same determination…

"Ah, you haven't changed one bit, have you Shirou?"

"I'd like to think our master became taller, or else I'd be shrinking…" deadpanned Vita. Signum watched as the smaller redhead walked into the room wearing one of her skirts and a t-shirt, the towel wrapped around her hair betraying that she had just finished taking a bath herself.

"It looks like you're done with Signum already. Boobmonster, move it already!"

Without any hesitation Vita pushed Signum aside, the smaller girl dropping herself on the pillow in front of Shirou. In a single fluid motion the smaller knight pulled the towel from her head as her damp hair became unbound.

"Braids please."

Signum smiled as she took in the sight of her master, carrier of impossible dreams and future wielder of immeasurable power, forced to play along to the whims of his smallest servant, braiding her hair with movements that betrayed his experience in the matter.

It didn't help that Vita looked absolutely smug as her master tended to her whims.

Even so, the sight helped Signum make up her mind. It didn't matter if her master's ideal was beyond their reach right now. She would be right there, next to him, her sword cleaving open the future to his… their ideal. As long as they stood side by side there was nothing that could stand in their way.

Yet, a small part of her told her that something was still escaping her sight. That voice whispered of missing memories from her services to their previous masters, the days that Shirou would suddenly become ill; all were small things that didn't seem like much alone, but together they hinted at something greater, something more ominous.

She crushed those thoughts mercilessly, banishing them to a dark part of her mind, wishing for them to never return.

* * *

><p>"What the …."<p>

The day had started out as another ordinary day for Ayako. She and Shirou had prepped the dojo along with Signum for morning practice and they had had continued to instruct the first years in the basics. Most of their fellow year students had been helping the new recruits or continued practicing on their own without any problems.

Things went south when Shinji finally came in, far later than the rest. The boy had already been in a foul mood and, after she had ordered the boy to assist the newcomers, this had been reflected in the way he would suddenly place a freshman on the spot, brutally pointing out their flaws in front of their peers.

It wasn't that his comments were untrue, but his lack of tact wasn't helping to improve their confidence. Eventually Signum had stepped in, telling Matou to return to his own practices before the tall woman had ignored his complaints about her interfering by turning her attention to the somewhat befuddled newcomers.

Signum's actions hadn't helped Shinji's mood and during classes the boy had been rather unpleasant as well. He had shown up to afternoon practice, but his mood had only grown fouler.

Ayako had known that Shinji wasn't afraid to vent on his sister, the boy's harsh language forcing the shy girl to shrink under his tirade. However, it seemed that today Signum wasn't going to let him continue his behavior under her watch.

Matou Shinji and Signum Ritter did not get along, the two of them having a horrible match of personalities. And while normally any dispute between the two would be finished by ether her or Shirou, this time Sakura tried to restrain her brother for his own sake…..resulting in the girl now sprawled out on the floor as she cradled her face, courtesy of Matou Shinji's outstretched fist.

"Damnit Shinji!" Ayako swore as she took in the sight of Sakura lying on the ground, as… "Wait, Signum!"

Mitsuzuri Ayako could only watch as Signum's expression twisted into an emotionless mask, sending cold shivers down her spine as the taller woman pulled her fingers into a fist which she aimed at the boy.

Signum Ritter was going to punch the boy without holding back. It was a scandal waiting to happen; a teacher's assistant punching a student right in his face.

This, Ayako realized, was going to be bad…. Really, really bad. Ayako started running, hoping to make it in time before something would happen.

Her effort was unnecessary, a hand swiftly pulling down the fist from the taller woman before it could reach its target. Ayako let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Shirou stepping in, the boy pulling Signum away before the taller woman could harm Shinji.

Shinji simply stood still, trembling like a leaf as he realized he had just escaped a rather painful encounter. Ayako barely noticed the growl escaping from her lips as she watched Shinji smirk at the sight of Signum's retreat as Shirou turned around and…

There was a dull smack as Shinji stumbled backwards, before falling to the ground.

"You…you hit me!" Shinji spat out as he looked up at the perpetrator, before flinching away from the sight. Ayako followed his gaze until she got a good look at Shinji's assailant.

Ayako sucked in her breath as she paused at the sight of those gold-brown eyes emitting such a cold stare, lacking any of the usual warmth she associated with the boy.

She didn't know Emiya Shirou could look that angry.

* * *

><p>"I've talked with Shinji's grandfather over the phone and we agreed that the incident from today is best handled privately between the two of us."<p>

It was unusual for Fujimura Taiga to look serious, even when sitting behind her desk. Today however she was pulling it off rather well, staring down the two boys sitting on the chairs in front of her.

"Due to the events of today, your grandfather and I have decided that life in the Kyudo Club isn't really suited for you. We think it might be a good idea for you to try out some other clubs at this point."

"As for you," Taiga turned towards Shirou with a disappointed look. " While you are lucky not to be expelled from the club, Signum has sworn to me that she'd make sure that you'd learn not to do something as rash as this ever again. I'm willing to take her on her word this time, but I expected better from you."

Shirou stared at his feet, not even looking at ether Shinji or their teacher as she spoke the verdict, clenching and unclenching his right hand even though the ache from the punch had disappeared over an hour ago.

"Practice is already over for today. Matou-kun; Shirou and Signum will accompany you home this time. That way Shirou can give his proper apologies to your grandfather as well for all of …."

"My old man doesn't like meeting people; this might not be a good idea." Shinji quickly stood up as he shook his hands.

"Your grandfather insisted on this." Taiga replied before focusing her ire at the other subject in the room. "And I expect you to apologize for all of this in a proper way, understood Shirou?"

"Yes, Fuji-nee-"

"It's Fujimura-sensei for you right now." The woman cut him off. "Ayako already walked Sakura home this afternoon. Signum is waiting outside for you two so get moving already."

Nether Shinji or Shirou spoke as they left the teacher's office. Signum greeted them with a simple nod, before the three of them took off. It was already starting to get dark as they walked down the road, Signum three steps behind them to keep her distance from the two of them.

Eventually the familiar sight of the Matou residence appeared before them. As they walked further up the hill Shirou remained silent, even when Signum discarded her previous distance to him and moved herself directly behind him, as if she wanted to make sure she could grab him and move out of danger within a single moment. The look on her face hid her thoughts, but Shirou shared her discomfort as he watched his surroundings.

With the setting sun shining down on the house, the play of light and shadows turned the house into something different. The last time he had been here the house had felt normal, but today it was as if something was watching them from the shadows.

"Go home, Emiya." Shinji suddenly broke the silence as he walked towards the door, only to turn around and face them after he reached the door. "I'll talk to my grandfather in your place so you should just head home."

Shinji's demand sounded more like a plea to Shirou's ears, the boy's eyes nervously shifting around as if they were looking for something that eluded their sight.

"You know I can't do that, Fujimura-sensei…."

"I said go home Emiya!" Shinji snapped, his anger finally overpowering whatever fear had been keeping it in check. "Don't be such a stubborn…"

"That's enough Shinji. Go inside for now, I'll talk to you later."

"...!" Shinji froze, his face growing pale as he shook his head from side to side.

Shirou spun around, trying to find the source of the unfamiliar voice, before he caught the silhouette of a human lurking in the shadow of the house. From the looks of it even Signum hadn't been aware of the presence before he had made himself known.

"What's wrong young man, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself as an aging man with a cane.

"G-grandfather…"

"Didn't I tell you to go inside already?" The old man stared at Shinji, who quickly made his way inside the house.

To Shirou the old man's appearance was unfamiliar, but with the way Shinji acted around him this old man can only be…

"What is wrong, young one, why don't you answer? If you don't answer I will just have to take a guess. Hmm, seeing that you came here along with my grandson… can I assume you are the one his teacher was talking about over the phone?"

"Ah… yes." Shirou replied, still not sure what to make of the man. "My name is Emiya Shirou. I'm in the same class as Shinji and I've visited his home several times for the last few years, but I'm afraid we have never met. Also, this is Signum; she's one of my guardians and a fellow club member."

"Zouken."

The man uttered the unfamiliar word casually as if it held all the information Shirou needed. Shirou turned to Signum, hoping that she knew the meaning of the word, before the old man let out a chuckle at the lack of response.

"Matou Zouken." The old man once more repeated himself. "It is wrong for me to not name myself when you have done so."

"I see, nice to make you acquaintance, Matou Zouken-san." Shirou politely greeted the man. "I'm afraid that I've never seen you here before."

"Ah, I see. You must be wondering why we have never crossed paths before the times my grandson had you as a visitor. As you can see, I am rather old; I tend to just lie in the rear tatami room all the time."

"I see, excuse me for asking then, that was rather impolite."

"Hoho… I must say that I'm surprised though. You are rather polite for a boy who just recently inflicted bodily harm on my own grandson." The old man laughed as if he had just made a joke, before suddenly going quiet as his eyes stared right through Shirou.

It suddenly dawned on Shirou just how sharp his eyes were. While the man's body looked old and fatigued, his eyes looked like they could easily burn right trough him.

"Yes, I wanted to apologize for this incident. I'm …"

"It doesn't matter." The older man interrupted him without a second thought. "From what I heard you acted on part of my granddaughter's defense, so I will let this one slide. In fact, I fear that I must ask you for another favor in regard to Sakura." The old man interrupts Shirou.

"How can I help?" Shirou cannot help but ask. Things were going different from what he had expected but… he cannot deny a request for aid.

"As you might have noticed, my grandchildren do not really get along," the old man sighed, "most likely due to the fact that Sakura was treated… with preferential treatment during her childhood. It seems that this is still a source of Shinji's anger in their relationship. He has developed the tendency to lash out at her whenever he's stressed. I also know that my granddaughter doesn't really socialize with girls her age and dislikes opening herself up to other people.

The man paused for a moment, looking upwards at one of the windows on the upper floor, before turning his gaze back on both the boy and the female.

"However, it seems that she feels somewhat at home in the Kyudo club, speaking highly of the two of you. I'm just an old man, and while I can somewhat manage the dealings of my grandchildren inside my own house I fear that Sakura doesn't really have a place to open up…."

"Are you asking us to get her more involved with the club?" Shirou guessed, the old man smiling at his question.

"I…. prefer to see her entertained and, as my grandson has already stepped back from the club, it might give her a place where she can… bloom, so to speak. It would make this old man feel better to know that my granddaughter would… crawl out of her shell some more. Could you be so kind as to help this old man out?"

"I won't stop her if she wants to stay." Shirou replies with a smile, they boy content with seeing the solution to the old man's problem. "I promise to do whatever I can to make her feel at home."

The old man smiled, a rather unnerving sight even with the best of intentions. "Very well then, I thank you for your assistance. Please take care of my granddaughter then."

The old man slowly made his way towards the house, before pausing. "By the way, you said your name was Emiya Shirou right? Perhaps you can tell me how the daughter of the Einzberns is doing?"

"Heh?"

"What might you be talking about?" Signum spoke up, breaking her silence as she took a step forward. "Why do you know that name?"

"Do not play dumb." The man instantly replied. "It is natural for the daughter of the Einzberns to be in contact with the Emiya. While it is rather early, it's natural to assume that the boy should probably know by now how well it is this time around."

This statement, Shirou instantly recognizes, is important. That… whatever what the man is talking about has to be important. Even worse, this man speaks as if it is obvious that he is supposed to know about this.

"I'm afraid that we do not know. Could you be so kind as to explain what you are talking about?" Shirou asked slowly, causing the attention of the old man to return to center on him once more.

"…Hm, it seems that you really don't know...," The old man sighs, looking rather shocked before a smirk crawled onto his face. "Please forgive this old man for rambling; it seems that the last few years I keep mistaking people for their parent, or even their grandparents…. What was I talking about again?"

"Einzberns." Signum repeated the name as the old man nods his head in approval.

"Oh yes, they came here before the war…. Bought the land outside Fuyuki in the woods you know. Why, when I was young, my friends and I, we'd walk around the forbidden parts of the forest until they started chasing people off their grounds…. But I think the castle is empty nowadays, the younger people say that it's haunted. Ghostly maids chasing all living humans from their properties and such. That takes me back you know…"

Shirou stared at the old man as he paused, speaking up once the old man showed no sign of continuing. "Matou-san?"

"…Ah yes. I think I need to lie down again; I'm getting rather sleepy whenever I'm outside. Again, I thank you for your time." The old man smiled before slowly making his way inside the house, leaving Shirou and Signum behind.

"That man… wasn't normal." Signum speaks up as she grabs Shirou by the shoulder. Shirou simply nods as he allowed her to pull him along towards their home. "He looked like a human, but..."

"I know. It seems that he knows more about certain things than he wants us to know… but I cannot feel any dishonesty in his request to have Sakura spend more time with other people."

* * *

><p>As they approached the cross-section Shirou turned around, looking up the hill as…<p>

"Who is that?"

"What's wrong Shirou?"

Shirou didn't answer, and instead pulled the trigger in the back of his head. Soon his reinforced eyes stared at the top of the hill. In the middle of the road stood a blond man, his face partially hidden in the shadow.

"..A foreigner?" Shirou murmured, before a cold shiver suddenly ran down his spine as he realized….

…That the man was looking back at him.

Even if it was from a distance that no normal human could see, this man was watching him. The man wasn't even trying to hide himself, the shadow covering his visage simply the result of a nearby tree branch extending a shadow over his figure.

Shirou could not read the man's expression. Even so, Shirou could feel that the man was smiling at them, looking down on the two of them as he stood at the top of the hill. Suddenly he disappeared, leaving the empty hill behind as if he had never been there in the first place.

"Signum. We're going home, right now."

His knight obeyed his order without question, the two of them walked around the corner at a faster pace then before. As they followed the street leading to their home Shirou tightly held onto the cross he carried with him at all times.

The unknown magus, the old man Matou and now this strange foreigner. What was going on in Fuyuki?

[=============================================]

266 empty pages remaining-

Secondary threshold reached.

Unlocking functionality of the tome up to level 6.

Manifestation of master program personality enabled.

Transferring functions from self-defense to master program-Security protoca# %

ERR #:e0000064798 $$%-

[=============================================]

In the darkest hour of the night the room was silent if not for the soft breathing of the master and his smallest knight, both in deep slumber.

But they were not alone.

The will of the book looked down on the sight of her sleeping master, the immaterial manifestation of the tome having emerged from the confines of the book currently lying under her master's pillow. A sad smile lingered in her expression as she reached out with her hand. Her fingers moved towards her master's head as if to brush his hair, only for her fingers to fade away as their essence scattered on contact with Shirou's solid form.

She was finally awake, but her existence was nothing more than a shade of her true form.

Even so, her mind, her personality had been restored. But it was in vain. Already she had concluded that control of several vital functions of the Tome had not been transferred towards her after her reactivation, instead being bound in the corrupted programming of the self-defense program. Even now the corruption grew, slowly but steadily moving the book to the point of another meltdown.

Soon the pressure on her master would start to increase exponentially, and he would ether fall to the book's hunger… or somehow achieve the feat of filling all of the pages-

-Nether option giving him any hope of survival.

In the end he would join her other masters in their twisted fate: to be absorbed, destroyed and then forgotten. In the end the nine years she had existed within his spirit was just a single fragment, one amidst thousands of other fragments. He was but one master amongst many, kind or cruel, heroic or despotic.

She wouldn't spill tears for his fate, for her tears had run out ages ago. All she would do, all she _could_ do, was stay at her master's side so she could fulfill his final wish when the inevitable happened.

But still… she couldn't shake the hope that that final day was still far away, wishing for this little interlude of happiness to last just a little longer. With that wish in mind she retreated back into her physical vessel, resting at her master's side.

If this was just a sweet dream, then she should be allowed to enjoy her slumber just a little longer.

AN: thank you to Santo, Linkhyrule and Carpe_noctum for Beta-ing my work.


End file.
